The Bangalore Hunt, 2016

The Bangalore Hunt, 2016

Smriti Mehra, Matt Lee

Through photography, audio and text, this project shows the physical and mental journey of newly released laboratory rescue beagles and documents the search for suitable homes for them. The project offers a perspective on the use of these hounds in the present day context of Bangalore.

The series of photographs depict the arrival of the beagles at the rescue centre as they are let out of cages for the first time.

The audio piece is a conversation between a CUPA volunteer and a potential ‘pet parent’. It explains the process for adoption as well as the various problems these beagles face in adapting to their new home.

The text displayed on screen is an email sent to unsuitable candidates, which lists the reasons for their rejection.

THE BANGALORE HUNT

10th -12th June, 2016
Venkatappa Art Gallery, Bangalore

The exhibits of The Bangalore Hunt included new creative work by artists who work at the Srishti Institute of Art, design and Technology, Bangalore. The art work is based on a small private archive of photographs, newspaper cuttings, annotations, letters and postcards that belonged to Stephen Simon Simmons, who was posted in Bangalore in the 1930’s. Mostly a document of the Bangalore Hunt, this collection reflects a leisure time activity for the British, who were once stationed in Bangalore’s Cantonment.

The participant artists included Raghavendra Rao, Suresh Kumar, Amitabh Kumar, Abhishek Hazra, Arnab Basu, Yashas Shetty, Alison Byrnes, Leslie Johnson, Smriti Mehra, Matt Lee, Rakhi Peswani, Pooja Kaul, Aditi Banerjee, Ayisha Abraham. The artists responded with their own images, performance, audio and video, to bring alive a collection that can at best be described historically as a strange moment in time. The new work addressed themes found in the images, such as the shift from hunting on the pastoral rural landscape, toward land-as-real estate, in today’s time, among others.

The exhibition was curated by Alison Byrnes and Ayisha Abraham.

Deccan Herald

Bangalore Mirror

The Bangalore Hunt

10th -12th June, 2016
Venkatappa Art Gallery, Kasturba Road, Bangalore

Timings: 10am to 5pm
Opening: 10th June, 5pm to 7pm

The exhibits of The Bangalore Hunt include new creative work by artists who work at the Srishti Institute of Art, design and Technology, Bangalore. The art work is based on a small private archive of photographs, newspaper cuttings, annotations, letters and postcards that belonged to Stephen Simon Simmons, who was posted in Bangalore in the 1930’s. Mostly a document of the Bangalore Hunt, this collection reflects a leisure time activity for the British, who were once stationed in Bangalore’s Cantonment.

The participant artists are Raghavendra Rao, Suresh Kumar, Amitabh Kumar, Abhishek Hazra, Arnab Basu, Yashas Shetty, Alison Byrnes, Leslie Johnson, Smriti Mehra, Matt Lee, Rakhi Peswani, Pooja Kaul, Aditi Banerjee, Ayisha Abraham. The artists have responded with their own images, performance and video, to bring alive a collection that can at best be described historically as a strange moment in time. The new work addresses themes found in the images, such as the shift from hunting on the pastoral rural landscape, toward land-as-real estate, in today’s time, among others.

An opening reception with live performances will take place on Friday, 10th June, from 5-7pm in the auditorium.

The Itinerant Illustrator exhibition

On the 18th and 19th December 2014 the 5th International Illustration Research event took place in Bangalore, India. Hosted by Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, this symposium and the accompanying exhibition focused on the praxis of illustration in an expanded field, including histories of local/ regional illustrative practices and the traversing of diverse media platforms. The exhibition was the first of its kind in India and showcased a range of projects and practices by illustrators from several countries.

Curators: Anna Bhushan, Alison Byrnes, Matt Lee

Artists: Catherine Anyango, Eleanor Barnard, Gareth Proskourine-Barnett, Laurene Boglio, Rosie Bowery, Steve Braund, Beehive Collective, Lucy Dickson, Chris Glynn, Sophie Herxheimer, Anne Howeson, Margaret Huber, Bruce Ingman, Sonia Jose, Guillame Kurkdijan, Sammer Kulavoor, Thoka Maer, Christine McCaulay, Kanitta Meechubot, Roderick Mills, Toby Millman, Ronit Mirsky, Catrin Morgan, Kate Owens and Neeta Madahar, Miranda Pfeiffer, Stephen Madoc Pierce, Gary Powell, Surasti Puri, Graham Rawle, Lauren Redniss, Matthew Richardson, Vidha Saumya, Bhajju Shyam

Partners: Cardiff School of Art and Design, Manchester School of Art, Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology, Illustration Research

Special thanks: Students of Srishti school of Art, Design and Technology

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The Itinerant Illustrator. Interim Semester, 2014–2015

On the 18th and 19th December 2014 the 5th International Illustration Research event took place in Bangalore, India. Hosted by Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, this symposium and the accompanying exhibition focused on the praxis of illustration in an expanded field, including histories of local/ regional illustrative practices and the traversing of diverse media platforms. The exhibition was the first of its kind in India and showcased a range of projects and practices by illustrators from several countries.

In this project, students worked as an interdisciplinary team that included space designers, product designers, visual communicators, design managers and text editors. Facilitated by Sandeep Ashwath, Alison Byrnes and me, the task was to conceptualise the space design and visual identity for the event as well as put together a cohesive, professional and engaging exhibition of contemporary illustration. The project began with an immersion into the various thematic strands of the symposium. Students then created proposals and work plans for developing the exhibition display style, space layout and improvements, murals, event identity, banners and signage, exhibition brochure, speaker programme, conference kit, pop-up shops, event promotion and documentation. Aside from these mandatory deliverables the students also developed personal projects that responded to the overarching themes of the symposium.

Students: Shuchi N Bellare, Antara Bhargava, Shruti Bhatnagar, Sukanya Bose, Vipasha Chauhan, Pragya Gupta, Thanik Jaganath, Arunima Jain, Priyanka Jain, Rupika Joshi, Harini Kannan, Juhi Kedia, Yash Sanjay Khataokar, Shelton Lobo, Shubhika Dilip Malara, Mohavi Mohandas, Shweta Shirish Mulekar, Madhav Nair, Soumya Mittal, Antra Kaushika Nair, Sachi Khemchand Patil, Deepa Rodrigues, Gnanaeshwar Srinivas Radhamani, Natasha Mamta Sharma, Tanya Singh, Nimisha Singhal, Kritika Trehan, Aditi Verma, Kristel Marina Viegas, Rae Miriam Zachariah

Brainstorming/ drawing connections

Research and progress presentations

Curatorial flow

Space design and layout

Crit session – Signage, banners and posters

Screen printing notebooks

Palimpsest mural

Exhibition build

Stairway mural

Constructing the bamboo display stands

Arranging and displaying artwork

Banners for the keynote

Event catalogue

Exhibition brochure

Stickers for the conference kit

Conference kits

Symposium – First morning

Welcome – Desdemona McCannon, Anna Bhushan

Keynote speaker – Geeta Wolf, Tara Books

Student shop

The Itinerant Illustrator exhibition

The Itinerant Illustrator exhibition

The Itinerant Illustrator exhibition

The Itinerant Illustrator exhibition

The Itinerant Illustrator exhibition

The Itinerant Illustrator

The Itinerant Illustrator – 18th and 19th December 2014

This symposium is the 5th International Illustration Research event and will be hosted by Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology. It is organized in collaboration with the peer reviewed Journal of Illustration, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and Cardiff School of Art and Design (CSAD). The symposium this year will focus on the praxis of illustration in an expanded field, including histories of local/regional illustrative practices and the traversing of diverse media platforms.

The two-day event will feature talks and presentations from selected academic and practicing illustrators and artists from several countries. Through talks, workshops, performances and exhibited works, we will consider the illustrator in terms of the ‘habitual travelling’ that he or she undertakes. The itinerant nature of the illustrator is evident in the praxis of illustration itself- the oscillation of thought between word and image, page and screen, hand and eye, dream and reality. The nomadic nature of the illustrator is to wander between disciplines, search for new contexts and to make images not on one, but several different platforms within an eternal evolution of technologies.

The symposium is accompanied by an exhibition curated by Alison Byrnes, Anna Bhushan and Matt Lee that showcases work of contemporary illustrators working in diverse media forms.

Registration

Registration for the Itinerant Illustrator Symposium is open. You can book a place at the symposium via this link to the Srishti College website.

Follow us on Facebook,  Twitter,  Instagram for updates.

Now Showing

Now Showing. Semester Two, 2013–2014

Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology

Rex cinema is an old landmark of Brigade Road, Bangalore. Built in the 1940’s, it is among a handful of single screen cinemas that still stand in the city as most have now given way to multiplex theater chains. Bangalore has changed dramatically in the last two decades and landmarks that were integral to the identity of the city have been lost.

The aim of the Now Showing project at Srishti School of Art, Design, and Technology has been to document the living history and collective memory of Rex cinema – to capture its glory and celebrate the space that is now slated for redevelopment. Facilitated by Smriti Mehra and me, this site-specific art project created a platform for contemplating the present reality of Bangalore in its current state of flux.

This project allowed students to locate their storytelling interests within the space as well as develop their art practice and approach to medium and material. The project began with an immersion into the space and an introduction to its network of people. Locating ourselves at the cinema enabled us to facilitate conversations with cinemagoers, staff, stakeholders, artists and scholars about Rex as well as the city in transition.

Through an understanding of context and a consolidation of initial practice-led research, students were able to develop written proposals for a personal project. In following individual lines of inquiry, students unearthed testimonies and stories around this public space and incorporated their own personal reflections and critical points of view. With the intention of furthering these discussions in the public domain, students created a range of site-specific artworks for an onsite exhibition that involved, photography, sound, image, text, video and sculpture.

Students: Adwait Pawar, Aishwarya Cariappa, Akshay Vashisht, Daniel Babu, Nihaal Faizal, Sachi Rawal, Veda Thozur Kolleri.

Now Showing – Exhibition

Rex cinema is an old landmark of Bangalore. It is among a handful of single screen cinemas still standing as most of them have given way to multiplexes. This art project documents the living history of this particular cinema, captures its glory and celebrates the space that is soon slated for redevelopment.

The ‘Now Showing’ project features students of Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology. The final exhibition takes place at Rex Cinema, Brigade Road, Bangalore on 25th, 26th, 27th April, 2014.

Works by Adwait Pawar, Aishwarya Carriappa, Akshay Brijbhushan, Daniel Babu, Nihaal Faizal, Sachi Raval, Veda Thozhur Kolleri.

Facilitated by Smriti Mehra and Matt Lee.

Join the Facebook event. https://www.facebook.com/events/560973184001909/

Pratham Books

Pratham Books have just published a range of bilingual books and story cards that were designed and illustrated by students of my design lab at Srishti. These new titles are available through the Pratham Books e-store. A review can be read on Good Books.

As a not-for-profit publisher in India, Pratham Book’s dream is to see a country where every child wants to read, is able to read, and has something good to read. The Pratham Books Lab at Srishti was run by Krupa Thimmaiah and myself.

I Can Make Things! – Tanvee Nabar

I Can Help! – Aman Randhawa

I Am Not Afraid! – Rayika Sen

I Can Climb! – Deval Maniar

Chintu – Pratyush Gupta

Who Is It? – Pratyush Gupta

Tommy and Tingu – Natasha Mehra

The Race – Kavya Singh, Natasha Mehra

My Brother and Me – Pallak Goswamy

Bed-time Stories – Harshvardhan Gantha

Hide and Seek – Harshvardhan Gantha

The Mango Tree – Kavya Singh

Suma – Kavya Bagga

My Sister and Me – Saloni Chopra

Treasured Islands

Treasured Islands: Book Design Project. Semester One, 2013–2014

Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology

There are over 700 schools in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, in these schools there has been no island specific education in the curriculum and children have little awareness of their unique ecological environment. To address this, Dakshin Foundation and ANET have been working with the Department of Education ANI to develop content and make environmental education mandatory in schools.

In this collaborative project, 16 students from Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology redesigned ‘Treasured Islands’ – an out of date and out of print environmental textbook specifically for teachers in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (grade 6-8). The first edition of this book was published by Kalpavriksh and ANET in 1999 and has now been put forward by the Department of Education ANI as a recommended classroom resource.

Facilitated by Kumkum Nadig, Ramesh Kalkur and me, the task was to reconceptualise the design, illustration and navigation of the book as well as incorporate new information and activities. The project objectives included:

• Understand the challenges in designing a teaching resource in this context.
• Integrate images, text, information and activities in meaningful ways.
• Design for ease of use.
• Develop appropriate, informative, engaging and contemporary illustrations.
• Deliver a book that can be easily translated into multiple Indian languages.

This new edition of ‘Treasured Islands’ will be used for teacher training workshops and will provide the basis for a range of supplementary materials, which will be designed in phase 2 of the project.

Students: Ananya Singh, Aneri Jhaveri, Isha Sinh, Juhi Agarwal, Koyal Chengappa, Maanasa Ganesh, Meghna Jaswal, Pramod pai, Pranav Dharamsi, Prateek Vatash, Pratyancha Puri, Priya Jain,Sree Lakshmi Sola, Sreeja Basu, Vishaka Jindal, Vivan Kamath.

Storybook Lab 2

Storybook Lab. Srishti School of Art, Design and technology.

Semester Two, 2012–2013

The aim of the Storybook Lab at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology has been to design storybooks specifically for Indian children and publish a range of new initiatives that are enjoyable, meaningful and accessible.

Run by Krupa Thimmaiah and me, this specific project explored opportunities for storybooks on tablet devices. At present, the availability of good quality interactive reading material is limited in the Indian publishing context. Our aim was to adapt regional folk stories and re-imagine them as multilingual apps for an underserved Indian audience.

The project objectives were:

• Design for simplicity and intuition.

• Consider new ways of creating, sequencing, sharing and adapting stories.

• Design engaging experiences that encourage a reading habit.

• Create possibilities for multilingual book apps and integrate meaningful and valuable learning tools.

• Develop contemporary content and Indian styles of illustration.

This project involved fifteen students working together in smaller teams. To conceptualise new possibilities, each team was required to deconstruct the idea of a storybook, understand the role of stories and look at both the conceptual and practical possibilities for interactive storytelling. To create successful prototypes, students needed to bring together skills in research and analysis, concept development, prototyping, interaction design, storytelling, illustration and animation, layout and typography. They used a rigorous design methodology – to plan, investigate, iterate, test, and evaluate their work.

Students conceived story apps that were non-linear or gave the child choices in the development of a plot. They also integrated language options, story-specific activities and meaningful interactions that drove the stories forward. The next step involves collaborating with educational organisations and multimedia publishers to develop the prototypes for market.

Students: Aakansha Kukreja, Anuja Shukla, Kopal Joshy, Kritisha Kantilal Jain, Loveena Chopra, Mithra Vimala Murali, Natasha Mohan, Nikita Biyani, Pragya Joshi, Pragya Mahendru, Prisila Audumbar Netalkar, Priya R Gandhi, Rathi Varma, Sanjana Nyapati, Sugama Gopalkrishna