Date: Friday, 6 March 2026
Time: 11:00 am – 4:30 pm
Venue: Kolkata Centre for Creativity, 4th floor
OPEN TO ALL
As a part of the exhibition PURVAI - Printmaking in Eastern India: Pedagogy to Practice (9 January - 7 March 2026) curated by Dr Paula Sengupta at Emami Art, this symposium on printmaking in Eastern India will feature paper presentations by five eminent artist-pedagogues, delving into printmaking’s intrinsic marriage with the studio space.
The opening focus will be on the roots of Indian printmaking history in Bengal, followed by the establishment of the art institution and printmaking instruction therein in the mid-19th century, resulting in the gradual emergence of artistic printmaking during the Bengal Renaissance, the early days of exploration in Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, and Modernist collective studios and initiatives in the region. The keynote speech by Dr Paula Sengupta, will be followed by the presentations, and a final panel discussion that will address printmaking and its extensions, both within the pedagogical space and as a result of it in Eastern and Northeastern India.
This is a collateral of the 3rd Print Biennale India organised by Lalit Kala Akademi.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr Paula Sengupta | Professor & Head of the Department of Graphics-Printmaking, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata
SPEAKERS
- Arpan Mukherjee | Associate Professor in the Department of Graphic Art (Printmaking), Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan
- Dr Moushumi Kandali | Assistant Professor in the Department of Cultural Studies, Tezpur University, Tezpur
- Dr Nilanjan Das | Assistant Professor in the Department of Printmaking, Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar
- Dr Rajarshi Sengupta | Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Dr Paula Sengupta (b. 1967) is an artist-pedagogue, curator, and art writer. She is currently HOD of Graphics-Printmaking, and former Dean of the Faculty of Visual Arts, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Sengupta is the author of The Printed Picture: Four Centuries of Indian Printmaking published by DAG, New Delhi and Foreign & Indigenous Influences in Indian Printmaking with LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrucken, Germany. Notable exhibitions include those at Gallery Espace, New Delhi; Drik Gallery, Dhaka; and Nehru Centre, London. She is a recipient of the Charles Wallace India Trust research grant.
Arpan Mukherjee (b. 1977) holds a BFA and MFA in Printmaking and serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Graphic Art (Printmaking) at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. His works have been part of the Chennai Photo Biennale; Kolkata International Photo Festival; Lishui Photo Festival, China; Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa; Bengal Biennale 2024-25. He collaborated with the British Library and CSMVS, Mumbai, to reprint 19th-century archaeological photographs using historical processes. His most recent solo exhibition was held at Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai (2024–25). He is also co-founder of Studio Goppo.
Dr Mousumi Kandali is a bilingual writer, art historian, and translator holding an MA in Philosophy from Gauhati University; an MA in Art History and Aesthetics, and a PhD in Fine Arts from MS University of Baroda. She has authored five books and several articles, has curated the Neelpawan Baruah Museum of Modern Art at Tezpur University, and has translated Salvadore Dali's autobiography into Assamese. She won the South Asia Ladli Media Award 2023 for her book The Black Magic Women pub. Penguin Random House. She is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Cultural Studies, Tezpur University.
Dr Nilanjan Das (b. 1988) completed his BFA, MFA, and Ph.D. in Printmaking from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Notable artist residencies and exhibitions including The Seat is Reserved, Khoj Studios, New Delhi (2025); an Artist Residency at Singapore Art Museum (2023); Inception Grant, Art Incept, New Delhi (2023); Manorama Young Printmaker Award, India Printmaker House (2021); and support for Social Art Practice, Khoj Studios, New Delhi (2019). He is an assistant professor in the Department of Printmaking at Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar and is a trustee and artist of the Hamdasti Artist Collective, Kolkata.
Dr Rajarshi Sengupta (b. 1987) holds a PhD in art history from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (2019) and is Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur. He has co-curated an art-research project titled ‘WE’, a शब्द. Notable group shows include In Kalamkari Country, Sarmaya Art Foundation (2023); Crafting the Crossroad, Dhi Artspace, Hyderabad (2022); Varna(n), Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad (2021); and Entwined, Apparao Galleries, Chennai (2024). He received the Indo Canadian Shastri Travel Grant, Canada (2023-24); the IARTS Textiles of India Grant, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (2017-18); among others.
