TrAIN Open Lecture

Devika Singh – International Departures: A transnational history of art in India

This TrAIN Open Lecture will take Devika Singh’s book International Departures: Art in India after Independence as a starting point to discuss transnational readings of art in India. Described as a major contribution to a new, transnational history of art, this captivating and richly illustrated account presents together for the first time the work of Indian and foreign artists active in India after independence in 1947. It engages with the many creators, critics and patrons of the postwar Indian art worlds and opens up new ways of thinking about Indian art, closely examining artworks and analysing how they were received in India and abroad. Analysing a range of previously underused sources, this provocative enquiry explores how artists in India participated in global modernism during a crucial period of decolonization and nation building.

Introduction by art historian and museologist, Anjalie Dalal-Clayton (TrAIN Member).

About Dr. Devika Singh

Devika Singh is an art historian, art critic and curator who focuses on art in South Asia and the transnational history of 20th-century art. She is a Senior Lecturer in Curating at the Courtauld Institute, where she co-leads the new MA programme in Curating, and was previously Curator, International Art at Tate Modern. Singh has curated exhibitions and collection displays in a broad range of international contexts spanning the Dhaka Art Summit, CSMVS (Mumbai), Dubai Design District, Kettle’s Yard (Cambridge), Tate Modern and Paris Photo. She is a joint editor of the Oxford Art Journal and the author of International Departures: Art in India after Independence (Reaktion Books, 2023) and has published widely in exhibition catalogues, art magazines and journals.

Image: courtesy Gregoire Grange

Important Information

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The lecture will be hosted on Zoom

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The lecture will be broadcast at a later date via TrAIN’s YouTube channel.

Filming and photography notice

Please note: film and photography may be taking place at this event. All images and footage may be published on the College websites, social media channels and in print.