2021 Asia Arts Game Changer Awards India

Asia Arts Game Changer Awards India is a signature gala celebration honoring visionaries across the arts field making an impact in the world. The Awards pay tribute to artists and arts professionals who have made a significant contribution to the development of modern and contemporary art in Asia and who inspire a deeper empathy and understanding of the world through their work. Major art collectors, artists, gallerists, dignitaries from the art world, and Asia Society trustees and patrons will gather to celebrate the contemporary arts in Asia.

For more than thirty years, Asia Society has been a pioneer in identifying and fostering contemporary Asian artists and engaging new audiences with their work.

Past honorees include: Abir Karmakar, Akbar Padamsee, Arpita Singh, Benitha Perciyal, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Kochi Biennale Foundation, Krishen Khanna, Prabhakar Pachpute, Sun Xun, teamLab, Tiffany Chung, Vibha Galhotra, Vivan Sundaram, and Yang Yongliang.

Asia Arts Game Changer Awards India
Thursday, June 17, 2021
7:00 PM (IST) 

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This program is complimentary and open to the global community. For information on VIP access, South Asia Patrons Circle, sponsorships, and the sale of limited-edition artist portfolios please email Ketaki Varma, Programme Manager Arts and Culture at KVarma@asiasociety.org. 

Honorees

Born in 1934 in Bhavnagar Gujarat, Jyoti Bhatt was influenced by his father’s Gandhian philosophy while growing up. He came to Baroda and studied painting from 1950 to 1959 at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University Baroda under N. S. Bendre, K. G. Subramanyan, and Sankho Chaudhuri. He joined his alma mater to teach painting from 1959 to 1992. He received scholarships between 1959 and 1966 to travel to Europe and the United States. In 1962 he became a founding member of Group 1890. He has extensively engaged with printmaking and digital media and is an internationally acclaimed photographer, whose archival material of the living traditions of tribal and rural visual arts is historically significant. Since 1959, Jyoti Bhatt has been a commentator on cultural practices through his essays and articles published in vernacular and English periodicals. His art has been exhibited internationally, is in public and private collections, and is the subject of six monographs, among other important publications. He is a recipient of national and international awards, including the Padma Shri, the Kalidas Samman, an Honorary Doctorate, and five lifetime achievement awards. Jyoti Bhatt attributes his sustained engagement as an artist to the guidance of his teachers, the support of his friends, the curiosity of students, the journey of parenting, and the love and friendship of his partner ceramist, the late Jyotsna Bhatt. He lives and works in Baroda, and despite fragile health and failing eyesight continues to work every day in his studio.

Hamra Abbas is an interdisciplinary artist known for her diverse practice that ranges from marble-inlay sculptures and miniature silk paintings to color and light installations. Abbas has used Mughal architecture, religious and vernacular iconography, and portraiture to address notions of cultural memory, sexuality, and faith. Her recent works largely focus on the image of a garden and aesthetics of devotion to question the ideals of truth and perfection. After living for many years in Berlin and Boston, her recent move back to Lahore has greatly influenced her work. She has participated in the inaugural Asia Society Triennial, New York (2020) and Lahore Biennale, Pakistan (2018); 2nd Karachi Biennale, Pakistan (2019); 2nd Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India (2014); Changwon Sculpture Biennale, South Korea (2014); deCordova Biennial, US (2013); Asian Art Biennial, Taiwan (2011); 9th Sharjah Biennial, UAE (2009); 3rd Guangzhou Triennial, China (2008); 10th International Istanbul Biennial, Turkey (2007); and 15th Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2006). Abbas has taken part in group shows at NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (2017); Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein (2014); Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, Kansas (2013); Singapore Art Museum (2012); REDCAT, Los Angeles (2009); MAXXI, Rome (2016); ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe (2016); Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou (2011); Asia Society Museum, New York (2009); Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (2009); and Victoria & Albert Museum, London (2009).

Sohrab Hura is a photographer and filmmaker. His work lies at the intersection of film, photography, sound, and text. By constantly experimenting with form and using a journal-like approach, many of his works attempt to question a constantly shifting world and his place within it. His work has been exhibited at the Liverpool Biennial (2021); Kunstmuseum Bonn (2021, 2019); Experimenter Gallery, Kolkata (2020); the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2020); Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge (2019); and Cincinnati Art Museum (2019). His films have been widely shown in international film festivals. The Coast (2020) premiered at Berlinale 2021 while Bittersweet (2019) was awarded the Principal Prize of the International Jury at the 66th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2020. The Lost Head & The Bird (2017) had previously won the NRW Award at the 64th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2018. Hura has self-published five books under the imprint UGLY DOG. His book The Coast (2019) won the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook of the Year Award in 2019. The exhibition Growing Like A Tree (2021) opened in January 2021 at Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai, marking his inaugural curatorial project. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Ishara Art Foundation; Cincinnati Art Museum; and other private and public collections. Hura lives and works in New Delhi, India.

CO-CHAIRS

Pheroza Godrej, Sangita Jindal & Radhika Chopra

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE

The evening will feature special musical performances by award-winning singer and composer Sonam Kalra, creator of the Sufi Gospel Project. 

THE ABSENT YEAR: Artist Portfolio

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A limited series of portfolios featuring signed reproductions by select Asia Arts Game Changers from previous years will be available for sale during the program. Designed to commemorate the fifth edition of the Awards and curated around the theme of 'The Absent Year', the portfolio has been conceptualized by Abhay Sardesai, Editor of ARTIndia Magazine and designed by Reeya Mehta, Founder of The Experimental Box.

Proceeds support Creative Dignity – an organisation dedicated to providing relief and rejuvenation to Indian artisans in this time of COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 impact.

Special thanks to our Artist Patrons for their generous contribution: Abir Karmakar, Arpita Singh, Benitha Perciyal, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Prabhakar Pachpute and Vibha Galhotra.

Special Thanks to

Our host for the evening, Rashmi Dhanwani, Founder of The Art-X Company

Arts & Culture Partner

Asia Arts Vanguard Award Sponsor

Asia Arts Future Award Sponsor

Streaming & Media Partner

Outreach Partners