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MASALA:DIVERSITY AND DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH ASIAN ART
February 1 – April 9, 2004

Masala: Diversity and Democracy in South Asian Art brings together a varied and eclectic collection of contemporary art and photography, folk art, and pop-culture art from the South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Masala presents an appreciation of each of the art forms as well as a discussion of how they overlay, intertwine and inspire each other.

On display are examples of South Asian art that cut across class boundaries with a level of accessibility that engages, instructs and entertains. Featured pieces include large hand-painted billboards; miniature paintings; diagrams such as mandalas and yantras; 20’ long story-telling scrolls; Mithala and Warli paintings; comic books including the Amar Chitra Katha (Immortal Picture Stories) that bring to life traditional Indian epics and stories of contemporary folk heroes; colorful posters that illustrate the lives of gods and goddesses; illuminated calligraphy of Islam; and actual rickshaw panels.

Kathryn Myers, Professor, Department of Art and Art History, University of Connecticut, Storrs, initiated this extensive exhibition during her Fulbright Fellowship in India in 2002. Co-curators are Siona Benjamin, an artist working in Montclair, NJ, and Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Assistant Professor of Photography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston.

Masala is the first exhibition to occupy the new “bigger, better Benton” including the Evelyn Simon Gilman Gallery. A formal dedication ceremony will be held April 17-18 during a weekend of festivities that will showcase the abundant talent and creativity within the School of Fine Arts.

Masala: Diversity and Democracy in South Asian Art is made possible with support from the Connecticut Commission on Arts, Tourism, Culture, History and Film and supported, in part, by United Arts 2003. Funding for the lecture series has been generously provided by The Humanities Institute, The Department of Art & Art History, The Asian American Studies Institute, European Studies, The Office of International Affairs, The South Asia Studies Committee, and The Asian American Cultural Center. Additional support has been provided by Liberty Bank.