TAKE on art - July - December 2016

In this issue

TAKE precipitated a longtime dream to connect the stories and knowledge of artists, art historians, critics, curators, gallerists and administrators, without distinction, while evolving a language for art writing that could establish camaraderie between these various wheels that propel the arts forward. It eventually took form and took off into the art world’s orbit in 2009 with the mission to infuse conversation and discourse on the arts into the phantasmagoric shell that the boom had turned art into. TAKE was committed to being a platform for its readers and writers—far apart as they might be physically—to come together in the simultaneity of its pages. I wanted the journal to not just be the end result of the efforts of its contributors, but also be the friend and the mentor that I had sought while starting out—a witness and participant to coffee table discussions, tea stall banter and the wine and cheese of the white cube—in the formal, more accessible mode of a publication.

Excerpt from the editorial by Bhavna Kakar

With contributions from Aaron Cezar | Antonio Cataldo | Adwait Singh | Akhilesh Varma | Anahita Ganjoo | Anushka Rajendran | Aparna Piramal Raje | Bharti Lalwani | Bhavna Kakar | Chus Martínez | Deeksha Nath | Deepika Shetty | Devika Singh | Dr. Kavitha Balakrishnan | Emilia Terracciano | Geeta Kapur | Girish Shahane | Gopal Mirchandani | Gulammohammed Sheikh | Hemant Sareen | Himali Singh Soin | Ina Puri | Indrapramit Roy | John Xavier | K. Sridhar | Kamayani Sharma | Katya García-Antón | Malavika Rajnarayan | Manisha Gera Baswani | Oindrilla Maity Surai | Övül Ö. Durmusoglu | Peter D'Ascoli | Piyush Thakkar | Premjish Achari | Pushpamala N.. | Reetu Sattar | Rekha Rodwittiya | Sabih Ahmed | Shahidul Alam | Shilpa Gupta | Srinivas Sistla | The Phantom Lady | Victoria Genzinii | Vineet Kacker | Vivan Sundaram

409 Ramkinkars Sculptural Installation and Theatre

When Ramkinkar was asked whether he privileged sculpture or painting, he said “I ride two horses at the same time”. He rode a third  horse as well and this was performance — theatre and song — which he loved with equal passion. The project, 409 Ramkinkars, proposed the aesthetics of installation as a prompt for theatre. And the other way around — theatre as a prompt to conceive an installation.

6 mins

Unspoken, not Unforgotten

Writing on Contemporary Art of Southeast Asia.

7 mins

why do artists write on art?

once, there were newspaper reviews. they connected art writing to the artist and to an audience, with immediacy.

2 mins

Kalpana's Warriors

Conversation between Ina Puri & Shahidul Alam.

5 mins

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TAKE on art Magazine Description:

TAKE on art, the leading art magazine in India published bi-annually from New Delhi since 2009, comprehensively covers, reports and critiques art and cultural events from India and abroad. Led by Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Bhavna Kakar, TAKE follows a critical approach to the larger discourse on art through curated issues with contributions by leading writers and critics from across the globe. The magazine has been invested in sustaining critical writing practices in India not just through its own capacity as a publication but also by organising initiatives that try to generate discourse, and keep conversations alive. In the past, the publication has organised writing workshops under the TAKE on Writing series as well as hosted the TAKE TALK series. Significant projects in this direction include TAKE on Residency, in collaboration with IFA at 1 Shanthi Road, Bangalore in 2013, TAKE on Writing, Critic-Community: Contemporary Art Writing at Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts, Goa in 2014 and more recently, Take on Writing - Critical Writing Ensemble (CWE) Baroda Chapter at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda in December 2015 and the CWE Dhaka Chapter, conceptualised by Katya Garcia Anton, in collaboration with OCA, Norway at the Dhaka Art Summit in 2016 supported by Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council. The most recent TAKE on Writing initiatives included The Book – The New Writing Group, a workshop led by Chus Martínez and Ingo Niermann supported by Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council and The Book – Ensemble, both held in New Delhi in December 2016.

The magazine has travelled internationally to events such as Art Basel, Art Basel HK, Art Basel Miami, Dhaka Art Summit and Asia Triennale Manchester, as well as collaborated with landmark events locally such as Experimenter Curator's Hub (2011 - 2016), Insert 2014, Sarai Reader 09: Episode 1, 2 and 3, Amrita Sher-Gil National Art Week and Delhi Photo Festival.