Independent curator Sharmistha Ray talks about her first independently curated exhibition, A Place of Their Own, and why she selected to ghettoize South Asian-American Diaspora artists.

A Place of Their Own: An Exhibition of South Asian-American Diaspora Artists was borne out of my own personal biography of geographic and cultural migration. Even so, or perhaps because of my multiple migrations, I am somewhat reticence about ethnic labels – especially when they become buzzwords or catchphrases. Take Indian contemporary art, for example. In a few short years since 2005, Indian artists are everywhere on the global art scene. The cause may have been globalization, and while it has opened up a wealth of possibilities for Indian artists, it has also produced a fashionable form of ghettoizing of Indian art in exhibitions with names like Edge of Desire (New York, 2005), Horn Please (Bern, 2007-2008), Chalo! India (Tokyo, 2008-2009) and Indian Highway (London, 2008-2009). The foreigner’s gaze, however flattering at first, has stripped naked its Indian subject only to label it an idealized nude. Exotic but far removed from reality.

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Soaring art prices have an uncanny effect: a temporary state of euphoria triggers instant amnesia. If Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction results for Indian art in New York in March were encouraging, then their results in London last month were nothing short of exhilarating.

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Sharmistha Ray used the curator’s tour in Switzerland during Art Basel 2010 as a platform to engage social media tool Twitter in communicating an aesthetic and visual experience: can art criticism happen through micro-blogging?

The archive of tweets can be found at her Twitter id sharmistharay

Or, by doing a search for #curatorstour

Sharmistha Ray is a 31-year old artist, curator and art advisor who grew up across four continents before arriving in Mumbai in October 2006.

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All through 2007, Subodh Gupta’s magnum opus ‘A Very Hungry God,’ a gigantic 1000-kg skull made from aluminum pots and pans, sat flanking Venice’s prestigious Palazzo Grassi as part of French billionaire and art collector Francois Pinault’s first exhibition after he took control of the historic palace and gallery. It literally floated on the most coveted spot for public art in the world: the eponymous Grand Canal. Millions witnessed one of India’s leading contemporary artists at his best, as they glided past in gondolas and vaporettos. A star was made, of Indian blood, but foreign patronage.

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