With their generous donation, Shireen and Afzal Ahmad are supporting the development of the exceptional faculty member, Rattanamol Singh Johal, who specializes in South Asian Art. His training and teaching will enhance the knowledge and research and elevate the stature of South Asian art, promoting its integration into mainstream narratives.

Join us for a lecture by Rattanamol Singh Johal:

"The popular and the political: SAHMAT in the public sphere"

Established in the aftermath of the murder of activist, playwright, and theater actor Safdar Hashmi on 1 January 1989, the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) is a cultural organization invested in, “standing up for creative freedom and cultural autonomy as values central to the realisation of a true democratic order.” SAHMAT’s acts of cultural resistance have most often been carried out using visual languages, tools, and methods that can be described as “popular” both in aesthetic form and mass appeal. This talk will focus on the triangulation between political critique, popular culture and avant-garde artistic expression in the context of SAHMAT’s activities during the 1990s, especially as they relate to the emergence of installation art in India.