They abandoned their corporate ascent over a midnight phone call. Today, gallerists PRIYANKA and PRATEEK RAJA are changing the Indian art world with their vision, finds ROSALYN D’MELLO
It is December 2018. Priyanka Raja is at Experimenter Gallery. She adds me in on a conference call, and the bustle of Kolkata’s streets takes over. Her husband and co-gallerist Prateek apologises. He is on his way to catch a flight to London, where his presence is requested at the Turner Prize ceremony. It’s a moment of unexpected synchronicity. Ten years ago, the duo opened Experimenter Gallery. “Our first signed-up artist was Naeem Mohaiemen,” says Priyanka. On view at the Tate Modern until January were two acclaimed films by the UK-born Bangladeshi artist, Tripoli Cancelled and Two Meetings And A Funeral (both 2017). The films were part of the 2018 Turner Prize exhibition for which Mohaiemen was shortlisted. It was a watershed moment in art history considering few South Asian artists had had such a close brush with winning the prestigious prize. Mohaiemen’s shortlist predecessors include Anish Kapoor (he won the prize in 1991), Runa Islam, also of Bangladeshi descent, and Tino Sehgal, of Indo-German origin. Though the 2018 Prize was given to Charlotte Prodger, Prateek’s presence at the event as Mohaiemen’s co-gallerist of 10 years signalled how their careers had been so intricately linked.
A CALL TO ART
Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av VOGUE India.
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Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av VOGUE India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.
