Art History Memes and more :)

One of Mumbai’s important gallery+museum, the Piramal Museum of Art, closed doors during lockdown, no one knows if it will ever open. Over the last 4 years it had become a very happy and welcoming space where I could confidently walk around with my students knowing they’ll be loved and respected. Most museums and galleries...

100th post, 5 years!!!

This is the 100th post celebrating 5 years of this blog!!! I can't believe it! I had never imagined I would be able to write regularly but here it is - 100 posts 🙂 thank YOU for reading them and giving encouraging feedback. Through this 100th post I formally announce the 'Museum Memories Project' -...

Museum Memories #23 by Nidhip Mehta

5 Museum Memories of Storm King Art Center (New York, USA) By Prof. Nidhip Mehta Architect and Former Dean, Pearl Academy School of Design My favourite museum to visit in the entire world isn’t even technically a museum at all. It’s 500 acres of rolling hills, woodlands, and green fields that holds one of the...

Pondi – cherry times…

Come, let’s travel the city of Pondicherry, now Puducherry, lovingly called Pondy. In happier times, I had taken a nearly 48-hour train journey to reach there, and it had been worth every bit. That was my second visit to the lovely city on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The first time had […]

Jodhpur: soaring high!

Jodhpur: beating the blues... contd... As mentioned in the previous post, Jodhpur is famous for its textiles, arts and crafts. Even today, its woodcarvers create some of the most popular contemporary furniture that are found online - just Google for 'Jodhpur furniture' and check the results! You have to walk around the old city to...

Jodhpur: beating the blues

Jodhpur. It is not just another city. It is an offering. Of everything stunning in nature: desert, sunrise, sunset, mist, flora and fauna. All beautifully entwined in the local history, arts, architecture, crafts, textiles, design, and cuisine. Much loved by its inhabitants. Jodhpur is a treasure. History: Jodhpur was established by Rao Jodha in 1459,...

Instagram takeover #2: Pragati Singhal

"Best design is something which works with all of your 5 senses and is invisible." Pragati Singhal, Textile Designer, February 2020 For February, the second VarnikaDesigns Instagram takeover was by Textile Designer, Pragati Singhal. She was very keen on highlighting 'senses' and took us on a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ride. We love it and will never forget...

Instagram Takeover #1: Suyash Srivastava

Dear Debby This post is especially for you - thank you for your encouragement and being such a wonderful inspiration VarnikaDesigns started its first social media colab with Suyash Srivastava, Textile Designer. He was completing his project from Siwan in Bihar, one of India's most sensational states, and gave us live coverage from there. His...

The V S Gaitonde exhibition review

A humble offering in the form of a review of the paintings by the celebrated artist V S Gaitonde by the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation at the CSMVS, for the ArtFAct monthly newsletter. This December they complete a year 🙂 The text of the review is given below: The Sea There is a pleasure in...

Workshop: Access & Inclusion in Museums, Mehrangarh Fort Museum, Jodhpur

Workshop alert: Access and Inclusion in South and Southeast Asian Museums Venue: Mehrangarh Fort & Aana Jharna Museums, Jodhpur Dates: 28 - 30th November, 2019 Organised by: Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM), ICOM ICTOP (International Committee for Training of Personnel) and ICOM India, in collaboration with Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Jodhpur and Maharaja Sawai Man Singh...