Abigail Maria Glaum-Lathbury

In this class, students will explore the contemporary art and design landscapes of India, through visits to the cities of Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, and Varanasi. The course investigates the intersection of local and global influences, focusing on how contemporary Indian artists and designers shape art and design within India and across the world. This course blends historical exploration, hands-on workshops, and exclusive access to leading artists and designers shaping India¿s creative landscape.
Beginning in Mumbai, students will visit studios of internationally acclaimed artists, and designers. Giving further historical and political contexts throughout the trip, students will engage with cultural and historical landmarks, attend lectures by scholars, historians, and cultural revivalists. Students will then visit the 6th Edition of the internationally renowned Kochi Muziris Biennale, the largest and most significant art event in South Asia. Guided by the Biennale¿s curator, renowned artist Nikhil Chopra, students will explore site-specific projects created by leading artists from India and around the world.
From the Biennale, the class will travel to Jaipur to engage with world-renowned designers and learn historical material techniques within a global context. Hands-on workshops, led by master artisans who collaborate with the high-end fashion industry in both India and globally, will include centuries-old techniques such as block printing, resist dyeing, and the design of jewelry using precious and semi-precious stones, as well as paper making. The final destination is Varanasi, where students will be hosted by the international recognized Kriti Gallery and Residency. Here, as artists-in-residence, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the art, culture, history, and politics they experienced throughout the trip. They will create works that deepen their studio practices, collaborating with traditional craftspeople and materials to produce individually led studio projects.

In this class, students will explore the contemporary art and design landscapes of India, through visits to the cities of Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, and Varanasi. The course investigates the intersection of local and global influences, focusing on how contemporary Indian artists and designers shape art and design within India and across the world. This course blends historical exploration, hands-on workshops, and exclusive access to leading artists and designers shaping India's creative landscape.
Beginning in Mumbai, students will visit studios of internationally acclaimed artists, and designers. Giving further historical and political contexts throughout the trip, students will engage with cultural and historical landmarks, attend lectures by scholars, historians, and cultural revivalists. Students will then visit the 6th Edition of the internationally renowned Kochi Muziris Biennale, the largest and most significant art event in South Asia. Guided by the Biennale's curator, renowned artist Nikhil Chopra, students will explore site-specific projects created by leading artists from India and around the world.
From the Biennale, the class will travel to Jaipur to engage with world-renowned designers and learn historical material techniques within a global context. Hands-on workshops, led by master artisans who collaborate with the high-end fashion industry in both India and globally, will include centuries-old techniques such as block printing, resist dyeing, and the design of jewelry using precious and semi-precious stones, as well as paper making. The final destination is Varanasi, where students will be hosted by the international recognized Kriti Gallery and Residency. Here, as artists-in-residence, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the art, culture, history, and politics they experienced throughout the trip. They will create works that deepen their studio practices, collaborating with traditional craftspeople and materials to produce individually led studio projects.

Through studio visits, and visiting artists lectures students are examining venues through which artists and designers 'are getting the word out'. Students translate and expand their personal design vision by developing critical written materials to create a context for positioning their work. This analysis is directly related to, and in support of, their current studio practice; it references their journals, sources, and visuals, and will become an additional layer, and integral part of the final presentation.