Department: Tate Modern Curatorial
Host: Yasufumi Nakamori, Senior Curator, International Art (Photography)
To offer new possibilities for exhibitions and acquisitions at Tate, Veeranganakumari developed a research framework around which could be built a register of South Asian artists working in photography and time-based media.
Veeranganakumari also explored artists’ practices – particularly those of the South Asian diaspora – involving concepts around the displaced notion of home and identity, and how these enter institutional discourse and contribute to the creation of new theoretical knowledge.
The research prompted rethinking of the collection strategy for South Asian art. In particular, Veeranganakumari’s knowledge and expertise of Nepali art and the visual arts sector in Nepal opened up new pathways for approaching art from this region.
Installation view of Savinder Bual‘s The Pineapple Project 2018 at the exhibition Synaesthetic Notations, curated by Veeranganakumari Solanki, at the Serendipity Arts Festival 2024, Goa. (Photo: Philippe Calia and Sunil Thakkar.)
Biography
Veeranganakumari Solanki, a curator and writer based in India, explores how various creative practices merge to create dialogues in public and private spaces. Her work examines how historical and contemporary thought informs exhibition-making and expands ideas of medium specificity through narration and storytelling. Focusing on South Asian art practices in its global context, Veerangana has been a Brooks International Research Fellow at Tate Modern, a resident at Delfina Foundation and a Programme Director at Space Studio and The Gujral Foundation. She is also a Co-Director of the SqWLab Foundation and on the advisory committee of the Piramal Photography Gallery at NCPA, Mumbai.