Comprehending Creative Expression ...

(Dr) Sanjay Sen Gupta

Associate Professor & Head (Department of Fine Arts and Design)

Masters in Painting from GCAC Kolkata (2002), and PhD (2014) in Fine Arts (Visual Arts) from the University of Calcutta.

Email: sanjay.sg@snuniv.ac.in

A practicing artist, researcher, writer, and educator based in Kolkata. Masters in Painting from GCAC Kolkata (2002), and PhD (2014) in Fine Arts (Visual Arts) from the University of Calcutta. Has been teaching various aspects of Drawing, Painting, Design and Composition since 2002. Has brought to light the oldest wooden idol ever found in West Bengal and arranged for its safe custody to the State Archaeological Museum (2010). Coordinated an Erasmus+ Faculty Exchange Program with Art Consortium, Spain (2017-8). Edited a Special Issue of The Chitrolekha Journal on Art and Design (2018). Won NTICVA Small Study and Research Grant India (2018-2019). Presented research papers on various aspects of Bengal Art in national and international seminars and conferences; and has published in various reputed journals. Invited as guest speaker and resource person by University of Calcutta, The Asiatic Society, Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre, Government College of Art and Craft, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture etc. Exhibited artworks in solo and group-shows in Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai. Now working as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Centre for Indological Studies & Research, RKMIC Kolkata. A Member of the Editorial Board of The Chitrolekha Journal on Art and Design; and an Advisory Board Member of Ahana. Visited Bangladesh and Spain on different academic and research assignments.

SOMA BHOWMIK

Assistant Professor - History of Art (Fine Arts and Design)

Bachelors and Masters in History of Art from Visva-Bharati University, pursuing her PhD on Curatorial Possibilities in Contemporary Art from VB.

Email: soms.b@snuniv.ac.in

An art-historian, curator, critic, writer and educator based in Kolkata and Santiniketan. Bachelors (2012) and Masters (2014) in History of Art from Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, she is pursuing her PhD on Curatorial Possibilities in Contemporary Art from VB. She curated several shows of modern and contemporary art in Kolkata and Delhi – showcasing both senior artists and young practitioners – in association with various significant galleries. She delivers frequent lectures on History of Art and Curatorial Possibilities in national and international platforms. She also coordinates Art Appreciation Courses, Seminars, Workshops, and thus creates opportunities for art-practitioners, viewers and enthusiasts. As a Curator, she has worked with CIMA Art Gallery, Maya Art Space and Emami Chisel Gallery in Kolkata. She was a Guest Faculty at Amity University Kolkata, and Government College of Art & Craft Kolkata, and has also been the Director of ArtsAcre Foundation. As a prolific writer and critic, she has published many essays and reviews in various national and international journals and art magazines. She was the Associate Editor of ArtEast Magazine (2015-), and the Editor of the journal Art Fact (2018-). She has authored a monograph on Hirendranath Dutta published by Rajya Charukala Parshad, Information and Culture Department, Government of West Bengal, and a book named DO I MIND.

MEENAKSHI SENGUPTA

Assistant Professor - Painting (Fine Arts and Design)

Pursuing Ph.D. at Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan Masters of Fine Arts from Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda, Gujarat

Email:

A practicing artist and educator based in Kolkata. Bachelors (2011) in Painting from Government College of Art and Craft Kolkata (CU) and subsequent Masters with Gold Medal (2013) from MS University Baroda, she is continuing her PhD on Gender Representation and Marginalization in Colonial and Post-colonial Indian Subcontinent at Kala Bhavana, Visa-Bharati University, Santiniketan. She received Nasreen Mohamedi Award (2012), Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant (2016) and Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation Award (2018). She has held solo exhibitions -- ‘Flavour Chart’ at Gallery Maskara (2013), ‘Some-body, Any-body, No-Body’ at Sakshi Gallery Mumbai (2018), and one in Kolkata. Her works have also been exhibited in various national and international platforms like – POC Festival, Marseille, France; Art Brussels, Belgium, Geukens & De Vil Gallery, Antwerp; Kochi Muzirus, Biennale, India Art Fair and others. She was part of Khoj Peers Share Programme (2013), and the fall Visiting Artist Fellow at South Asian Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA (2016). She is currently represented by Sakshi Gallery in India and Shifting Frames in France, and has also engaged herself with the academia for more than four years.

MAINAK CHAKRABORTY

Assistant Professor - Painting (Fine Arts and Design)

Masters in Painting from the Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta

Email:

A practising artist and educator based in Kolkata. Bachelors (2015) in Painting and subsequent Masters (2017) in Painting from Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta (CU), UGC-NET qualified (2018). He received Dilip Dasgupta Memorial Gold Medal Scholarship for securing First Position with First Class in BFA; Award in Drawing, West Bengal State Akademi (2016); Award in Drawing, Emami Chisel Art Gallery (2016); Rabindranath Tagore Award, GCAC (2016-17); Award in Drawing, Birla Academy of Art and Culture (2018); All India Silver Medal in Drawing, Kalanand, Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation (2018); Kolkata City Award, Kalanand, Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation (2019); Award in Drawing, Camel Art Foundation (2019); Award in ‘Graphics-Composition’, International Exhibition-Competition ‘??????? ???????’, Saint-Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design (2021); Award in ‘Graphics-Academic Landscape’, International Exhibition-Competition ‘Artist’s View of the World’, Saint-Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design (2022). He worked as an Assistant Professor at the School of Fine Arts, Amity University, Kolkata.

Kaushik Halder

Assistant Professor - Sculpture (Fine Arts and Design)

Bachelors (2012) in Sculpture from Rabindra Bharati University Kolkata, and subsequent Masters (2014) from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan

Email:

A practicing artist, sculptor and educator based in Kolkata. Bachelors (2012) in Sculpture from Rabindra Bharati University Kolkata, and subsequent Masters (2014) from Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, he also attended Integrated Training Programme at National Bal-Bhavan Delhi (2010). He was awarded Gold Medal at the Annual Exhibition of RBU (2012), Aranya Special Award by RAD (2013), National Award in Sculpture in the 55th National Exhibition of Art by LKA, Charukala Award by Rajya Charukala Parshad (2014), Governor Award at 80th Annual All India Fine Arts Exhibition by AFA (2016), Junior Fellowship in Sculpture (2014-15) by the Ministry of Culture, GOI (2017), West Bengal State Award & Fellowship, Kalananda Art Contest Award by PDF (2018), Infosys Special CIMA Award (2019), Honourable Mention International Award-2019 at FAIEMW Bhopal (2020), and many more. His works have been showcased in exhibitions in Kolkata, Bhopal, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangladesh. He has also participated in Wooden Puppet Workshop organised by WBSADDMVA (2011), National Workshop on Playing with Glass & Flame at Shilpa Sadan Visva-Bharati, Workshop organised by SBI at SSVAD (2014), International ‘Ceramic Dome Tagore’ Project by New Earth UK and Kala Bhavana, One month Residency at KAG Hyderabad (2015), and ‘Paper Potential’ Circle-19 at PAR Bombay (2019). He has engaged himself with the academia for more than five years now.

DASARATH DAS

Assistant Professor - Printmaking (Fine Arts and Design)

Email:

A practicing artist, printmaker and educator based in Kolkata. Bachelors in Printmaking from Indian College of Arts and Draftsmaship (RBU) Kolkata in 2012, and subsequent Masters from University of Calcutta (GCAC) in 2014. Recipient of Gold Medal at ICAD Annual Exhibition (2012), National Scholarship (2013), Best Award in Printmaking at GCAC Annual Exhibition (2014), Lalit Kala Akademi Research Scholarship (2015), Best Award in Printmaking by Emami Chisel Art (2017), CIMA Award (2017), Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation Kalanand Grant, DGM Award at Dhoomimal Gallery New Delhi, Fellowship at Ravi Jain Memorial Exhibition (2021) and VAS International Artist Group Award (2022). Besides many national and international exhibitions in Kolkata, Nagpur, Delhi and abroad, he also participated in Uttarayan Art foundation Residency (2014), 18th International Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh, Ulsan International Woodcut Printmaking Festival, Lalit Kala Akademi National Art Camp (2018), and 3rd National Tagore Exhibition (2021). He has more than eight years of teaching experience.

Mousim Mitra

Adjunct Faculty - Communication Design (Fine Arts and Design)

Graphic Design (1993-1998) National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

Email:

A Communication Design professional and expert based in Kolkata. Alumni of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad with specialization in Graphic Design (1993-1998), he has twenty-four years of industry experience working with leading agencies like BATES 141, JWT (now WT), Oglivy & Mather and others. He has been a Creative Director at GREY Kolkata, a Consultant Creative Director at LINC Pens, and an Executive Creative Director at Thoughtshop Communications. His works have won National Insurance Award, Calcutta Ad Club Award and others, was shortlisted for Global Awards, and got published by Rockport Publication of Philadelphia. Besides working as a Creative Consultant for several clients across categories, he was also an advertising and design educator associated with ISBM Media Management Institutes, UPES School of Design Dehradun, and NSHM Kolkata. As a visual artist, he held two solo exhibitions in Kolkata, and was showcased and published at CIMA Awards Show 2017.

Anujeet Chatterjee

Teaching Assistant - Applied Art (Fine Arts and Design)

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A) & Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A) in Applied Art from Rabindra Bharti University, Kolkata.

Email: anujeet.c@snuniv.ac.in

A graphic designer and educator based in Kolkata. Bachelors (2014) and Masters (2016) in Applied Art from Rabindra Bharati University, he was a recipient of ‘UGC Rank Holder Scholarship’ (2014-2016), and UGC-NET qualified (2022).  He taught art & craft at Kolkata Nandanik, and was the co-editor of magazine ‘Nandanik Samay’ (2014-2018). He was an exhibition trainee at BITM (NCSM, Ministry of Culture, Government of India), and has worked as a graphic designer at Digiscope Media Solutions Studio LLP.

Chayanika Dey

Visiting Faculty - Fashion Design (Fine Arts and Design)

A graduate in Fashion Technology from Wigan & Leigh College Kolkata, she has also done CAD Tech in Fashion from the Academy of Suburbia.

Email:

A working Fashion professional based in Kolkata. A graduate in Fashion Technology from Wigan & Leigh College Kolkata, she has also done CAD Tech in Fashion from the Academy of Suburbia. With more than twenty-years of industry experience, she was selected as a Designer from Eastern Zone in the Lakme Talent Hunt. She has worked as a Senior Design Associate of Kiran Uttam Ghosh, and the Chief Designer at Usha Creations. She was also professionally engaged in various capacities with Weavers Studio, Sreepriya Exports Pvt Ltd, Designer Anamika Khanna, Ritu Kumar and Paromita Banerjee. Besides being the owner of Vedaa Designer Ensembles, and a partner of Red Paisleys, she has also been a Fashion Faculty at Wigan & Leigh.

Tanmoy Nandi

Assistant Professor - Product Design (Fine Arts and Design)

Bachelors (2014) and Masters (2018) in Design from Silpa Sadana, Visva-Bharati University, and UGC-NET qualified (2019)

Email:

A practicing designer, researcher and product consultant based in Kolkata and Shantiniketan. Bachelors (2014) and Masters (2018) in Design from Silpa Sadana, Visva-Bharati University, and UGC-NET qualified (2019). His work has won West Bengal State Award for Ceramic in Kalanand Art Contest in 2018. With specialization in the mediums of ceramic and glass, he has been working on various projects with the National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad – along with other organizations and industries – since 2014. On behalf of State Institute for Development Arts and Crafts, Orissa, he documented their Silver Filigree Craft tradition. As a product designer, he represented India in the 7th episode of Uronto Residency Art Exchange Program in Bangladesh, and also participated in an International Workshop on ‘Architecture, Art and Lifestyle of Santali people,’ organized by In-Field Design Studio of Japan. He worked as a Guest Faculty at the College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath at Bengaluru. At present, he is pursuing his PhD in Design from Visva-Bharati University.

Barata Sarkar

Assistant Professor - Design History and Fashion (Fine Arts and Design)

Masters in Retail Management from Sikkim Manipal University (2015) and in Art History from Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati University (2021)

Email:

A practicing designer, researcher, and educator based in Kolkata. Masters in Retail Management from Sikkim Manipal University (2015) and in Art History from Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati University (2021), with UGC-NET (2021). Added qualifications in Apparel

Manufacturing (2005), Dyeing & Printing, Textile Designing (2006), and Needle Craft & Knitting (2015). Has taught various aspects of Fashion CAD, History of Fashion, Design Idea, Craft Documentation, Entrepreneurship Development, Traditional Textiles etc at ATDC Kolkata (2008-19). Has worked as an Assessor for AEPC Kolkata (2011-3), and presently is an Empanelled Designer under DCH (since 2020) and an Assessor (Handicraft) for Samarth project – both under the Ministry of Textile, Government of India. As a freelance Fashion Designer at Kothari Hosiery Pvt. Ltd., she has also worked as a Guest Faculty for INIFT, Rajarhat. Her MFA Dissertation thesis on Colonial and Post-Independence Craft and Design Trajectory of India with Special Focus on Santiniketan has paved the way of her research inclination.

Ananya Dalal

Assistant Professor - Printmaking and Graphic Art (Fine Arts and Design)

Pursuing her PhD in Printmaking from Visva- Bharati University, Masters (2018) in Graphic Art from MS University of Baroda.

Email:

A practicing artist and printmaker based in Kolkata and Shantiniketan. Bachelors (2016) in Printmaking from Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University, Masters with Gold Medal (2018) in Graphic Art from MS University of Baroda, and UGC-NET qualified (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2022). Her work has won National Scholarship by Ministry of HRD, Government of India (2016-8), National Award by Lalit Kala Akademi (2017), State Academy Award by Government of West Bengal (2019), Jury’s Choice Award by Birla Academy of Art and Culture (2019), and KHOJ Artist Network Support Grant (2020). Her works have been showcased in various national and international Exhibitions all across the country. Her core competency also includes art installations, research, developing and writing ideas – while she is also passionate about calligraphy, theatre, stage-decoration, music, photography and video art. Her teaching career began at Bhowanipore Gujarati Education Society (2018-21), followed by Bengal Fine Arts College at Chandpara (2020-2022). At present, she is pursuing her PhD in Printmaking from Visva-Bharati University.