Professor Iftikhar Dadi is the recipient and Principal Investigator of a $238,000 grant from the Getty Foundation’s Connecting Art Histories initiative. This grant supports a series of research seminars titled Modern Art Histories in and across Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Dadi He also serves as an advisor to Asia Art Archive.
Cornell has partnered with the Dhaka Art Summit (Bangladesh) and Asia Art Archive (Hong Kong) to bring together a team of leading international faculty and emerging scholars to investigate closely related institutional and intellectual developments in the artistic and cultural histories of modern South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The grant is supporting 21 emerging scholars—many based in this region—for two in-person intensive sessions, each over 10 days: Hong Kong during August 2019 at the Asia Art Archive, and at Dhaka during Dhaka Art Summit in February 2020.
Viewing the development of modern art and architecture of this region only as national art histories obscures understanding them in a comparative framework of decolonization and modernity. By contrast, this program emphasizes a connected and contextualized approach to better understand both common developments as well as divergent trajectories. The curriculum includes faculty seminars and presentations by participants and covers both core concepts and emerging postcolonial, decolonial, transnational, transcultural, and global perspectives. Field trips include visits to museums, archives, and modernist architecture. Additional guest lectures supplement the Hong Kong and Dhaka sessions.
Led by Iftikhar Dadi, the program faculty includes Elizabeth Giorgis (Ph.D. Cornell University 2010) (Addis Ababa University), Salah Hassan (Cornell University), Simon Soon (University of Malaya), Sanjukta Sunderason (University of Leiden), Ming Tiampo (Carleton University). Organizers include Diana Campbell Betancourt (Dhaka Art Summit); Amara Antilla (Solomon R Guggenheim Museum); and the Asia Art Archive team led by John Tain (Head of Research) and researchers Sneha Ragavan, Chuong-Dai Vo, and Michelle Wong.
The first 10-day field session was held in Hong Kong during August 12-21, 2019. The faculty led daily seminars, and the participants presented on their ongoing research. Workshops by the Asia Art Archive staff focused on methods of archival documentation. Field visits informed the participants with the diverse ecology of art institutions in Hong Kong, such as the massive M+ complex slated to open next year that will rival the largest modern art museums globally, as well as smaller spaces that foster more experimental research and practice.
Three Cornell doctoral students were among the participants: Anissa Rahadiningtyas (History of Art) was a regular participant. Ecem Sarıçayır (History of Architecture) and Kaitlin Emmanuel (History of Art) both assisted with coordination, and were also involved in all the sessions.
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