Lina Vincent

Art historian, curator and writer – Lina Vincent gets candid in an interview with Sonalee Tomar on her idea of a multidisciplinary practice.

Featured image: Artist Ana Bloom’s “Breath” series from Story of Space, 2017.

Working with art is not all about concepts and romanticised expression – it is also about budgeting, selling, hitting nails into walls, packing, pacifying irate artists and juggling the press.

 

Art Interview

Take us to the beginning of your story.

I grew up in a household that was liberal, culturally tolerant and aware. Fate brought our family to Bangalore after my father retired from the Geological survey of India – moving around the country taught me about our cultural diversity. Someone recommended Chitrakala Parishath as the place to study art. I joined a course at the famous Mount Carmels for safety, while I applied and ultimately got through to College of Fine Arts.

I learnt the basic techniques of art practice, and Kannada by joining the college theatre group, and began to understand the vastness of art practices coming in contact with experimental artists – Shantamani Muddaiah, Pushpamala, Surekha, Umesh Madanahalli, Tallur LN. Several of my seniors, Srinivasa Prasad, Ranjani Shettar, Biju Jose and Krishnaraj Chonat were beginning their careers in a distinctive mode of free expression that included video, performance, and site specific projects. I was very inspired.

The college also hosted national art camps every year. I imbibed everything I came across. Completed my Bachelors degree in printmaking and later a Masters in art history, during which I also began writing and interpreting others’ art works. It was the beginning of my curatorial career – only the term wasn’t being used much back in the late 90s, early 2000s. I was also drawn towards historical art research and vernacular arts practices, like Warli, Mithila, and Chittara – on the histories of which I did research for a publication called Sanskriti, run by Mahua Gallery.

Exhibition of mithila painting at the Town Hall, 7th Arrondissement, Paris 2016

How did your tryst with art begin? 

After college, I joined the Time & Space gallery in Bangalore, and there began my journey in arts management. I learnt a lot from the proprietor Mrs Renu George, but and realized at the end of 3 years, that I did not have the aptitude for business.

A friend suggested Art Resources and Teaching (ART), a small organization working towards building arts interfaces through research. For 3 years I was engaged in a whirlwind (thoroughly educational) programme under Annapurna Garimella – as she began Jackfruit Research and Design, sister concern of ART. Under Jackfruit, I expanded my repertoire, learnt how to write scholarly papers, edit, travel exhibitions, and work on large budget projects in different parts of India with vastly different clients.

All along, I continued with art journalism, and developed a good rapport with artists, other researchers, and cultural practitioners. This period took me to live in Mumbai for a while too. In 2008 my son was born – I decided to move back to Bangalore and started working independently – worried really whether I would receive any work. But work came – there was never a lack of it because art writing and curation was still a niche field. Among the variety of projects I did, one of the most diverse was developing an educational exhibition for India’s medical heritage under FRLHT (now university of Trans-Disciplinary sciences and technology). It broadened my perspectives and allowed me to understand living heritage and vernacular oral traditions as much as documented English histories.

Facilitating artist presentations at ‘Precip’ printmaking residency, Studio 365, Goa 2018

Tell us about your curatorial journey from then to now. 

I became associated with the Mithila Arts Institute in Madhubani, Bihar. My research on printmaking in South India got me a big break, curating a mega-exhibition on the Waswo X. Waswo collection of Indian Printmaking. From 2012-13 onward I grew in my field, learnt an enormous amount and also earned a good reputation in some quarters. Helping young artists write proposals and applications made me aware of the enormous gap in our educational system, it does not address the needs of a majority who don’t belong to the metros.

Between 2014 and 2018 I explored the idea of a multidisciplinary practice, which combined art history, research, design and education. I became aware of social and environmentally conscious ideologies and movements, and leaned towards projects that reached into science, anthropology, and entered public spaces. The Kochi Muziris Students Biennale, Morphology of Archive: Connected histories of India (for Museum of Goa), GOOD FOOD India (for ARTPORT_making waves), Tabiyat: Medicine and Healing in India (for Welcome trust UK), Story of Space (for Story Of foundation) connected in a broad way in an intersecting array of platforms and Indian and international artists, allowing me to engage with the subjects closest to my heart – I was earning from what I loved most, which is a blessing. I did not disconnect entirely from the gallery world – I continued to produce group exhibitions and write catalogs, exploring both upcoming and established artists and art practices with various spaces around India – with a focus on the South. I also continued to work on articles for publication, and participated in the more academic arena through conferences and symposiums.

Currently I am mentoring a set of five young artists through an Artist Incubator programme with Piramal Art Residency, Mumbai. I am working on a fascinating project on family histories for Serendipity Art foundation, and I continue to be associated with Sublime ArtEd, working on reaching out to school children with a well designed arts curriculum.

Gallery view, ‘Morphology of Archive: connected histories of Goa’, MOG, Goa 2016

What inspires you? 

An entire gamut of things inspire me. I find the seeds of ideas in places I visit, in conversations, in the work people have done. I find artists minds and studios fascinating, I can spend hours as an artist reveals the processes that make him/her an artist. I feel thoroughly inspired by nature too, my creative juices for writing flow well when I’m in contact with natural environments.

With Seema Kohli and Manjri Varde, solo exhibition “What a Body Remembers” by Seema Kohli, Tao Gallery 2018

What are the biggest challenges in your work? What has been your biggest learning experience?

There’s an abundance of both challenges and learnings of different types. I think having patience and a calm way of dealing with things has stood me in good stead, be it a delayed consignment that caused us to work through the night to set up a show; or an artist’s tantrums; or rains that prevented a priceless museum object from being transported after one spent 6 months doing the paperwork; or wall text being printed crookedly on wet paint… Each project brings challenges – big and small. It builds into the narrative of every experience and creates a memory that one can learn from.

The role of a curator is not clearly understood by a lot of people, galleries and organisations in India. Sometimes deliberately and at other times due to ignorance the role gets misused, and the curator becomes embroiled in unnecessary situations. While I have had the opportunity of working with the most professional set ups and ethical people all across the country, I have also worked on a few projects where everything has gone wrong, regardless of making sure of an agreement module. I have never however left any project mid-way, despite the difficulties.

The beauty of my job is through all the challenges I get to meet people who are doing different things, contributing uniquely to the world we live in, and making their own efforts towards producing balance.

I am Here set up, JAAGA Bangalore 2011

When an idea takes root, I write it down – I mean I write on paper or in my book, notes in my very large handwriting that is probably not readable to anyone but me. Writing allows the idea to settle. I can then return to it at any point to draw out the details and construct a framework for it. This could be a plan for a show, an essay, or a public art event.

Take us through your process. 

For exhibitions that I curate on my own, I like to begin a year in advance. Finalizing a concept, reaching out to the select number of artists, then going through a process of either selection of work or development of new work, takes time. It is also very important to me that the artists voice comes through clearly – curation can be a very powerful medium, it is possible to change the direction of an artists work by merely suggesting it. It must be a sensitively handled space – it is possible sometimes to see exhibits where the curator’s voice drowns the artist’s own, that is something I do not subscribe to. Particularly since I often work with young artists, I maintain a mutually comfortable space of discussion to evolve the idea taking the artists thoughts forward. I place myself as a mediator and interpreter rather than Critic. Sometimes artists really need the space to talk, share, bounce ideas off – I take that role too.

I love display, it is one of my favourite parts of curation, where I get to see actual works beginning a dialogue with each other in physical space. I have produced shows that I have felt immensely proud of, like “I am here”, “Memorabilia”, “Between the Lines: Identity, Place and Power – selections from the Waswo X. Waswo collection of printmaking”, “Kaya”, “An Atlas of Reimaginings” by Parvathi Nayar; small shows like “Stories: Objects, Voices”, and those associated with larger platforms like Story of Space and GOOD FOOD India too have given me great joy, it is not only about perfect ambience and big budgets, but also about making the best use of space and resources. For instance last year I had a most popular showcase of ‘Microcosm/Macrocosm’, the international print portfolio I curated, at a classroom venue of Hyderabad Lit Fest, at Hyderabad Public School.

My curatorial process continues as a relationship with all the artists I work with; I follow their practices, stay in touch, have discussions and often it leads to newer collaborations and exhibitions.

Waswo X. Waswo, opening of “Between the Lines: Identity, Place and Power”, Delhi 2012, photo by Gireesh G V

What are you looking for when you review artists’ work? 

I try to keep a very neutral position when I am reviewing work. I try not to professionally review work of artists with whom I have a strong personal relationship, but if the need arises then I don’t hesitate to critique work formally and conceptually. From years of looking at bodies of work there are certain things that come instinctively and allow one to recognize patterns, processes and articulations. It is possible to know intuitively when artwork is genuine, and communicating from the space of an artist’s truth – without artifice. This is regardless of the medium or type.

What trends have you observed in the art world?

There was a period when the fall of the market brought about a re-looking at practices, even those that were considered along the margins – like printmaking, and folk and outsider art. All these became included in evolving cultural discourse for a while because ultimately art is tightly bound as an industry through the economics of it, and though a great prominence was given to the moderns, art of various different sorts began to be exhibited. Performance art gained a lot of ground in India during this period – to a certain extent it released the artist from (galleries’) demands of sales and allowed for an entire generation of artists to experiment freely.

Art that tends to be more related to intellectual understanding than intuitive expression, skill or formal relationships, is a reflection of current times. India as a nation is continually in flux. Global political, religious and natural upheavals impact and feed the work of artists. To resort to clichés – Art continues to be a mirror to society. In India we lack government infrastructure for the arts, private and corporate funding can only go so far. A lot still needs to be a lot done, to build a more holistic cultural milieu.

The Kochi Muziris Biennale started something incredibly powerful by bringing a fantastic public art event to the South of India. The Biennales that followed have created created spaces for discussions and discourse, and given artists the opportunity to showcase work at various platforms. There is an interest in Arts education and changing the public’s experience of art. While I continue to hope that the many parallel contemporaries within the length and breadth of India get space for recognition, I do know that new private and corporate initiatives are trying to fill the gaps in whatever ways are possible.

How do you balance life and art? 

I would prefer not to use binaries. My relationship with art is an organic part of my life. That it is also my profession is an extension of this connection. As a mother of a ten year old, I work as a consultant for practical purposes. I balance voluntary projects, activism, large exhibitions and assignments that pay well. I love to work in a local sphere – when I was in Bangalore, I worked intensely with local artists, now I’m doing the same in Goa.

I like to work quietly, at a slow pace. I believe that the right things come along at the right time.

What is one imperative piece of advice you would give a young artist who is just starting out? 

Work, work everyday – there is no shortcut to that. Join forums for discussion, don’t be set on fixing a style or formula for success – be an artist who learns continually and is not afraid of changing. Experiment and practice, read and expand your knowledge of the world so you understand where your art stands. Learn to take criticism constructively, and believe that being an artist is more than showing in a gallery and selling work. It is not just about talking about an issue – It is about articulating your story about the world we live in, about sharing those stories with your audience and giving them the chance to respond. It is also about being responsible and sensitive and using art as an interface for larger and more universal human dialogues.

What comes next?

I look forward to the Hyderabad Lit Fest in Jan 2020, and a couple of exciting shows in Delhi coming up later in the year.

Currently I’m working on an interesting project called Goa Familia. It is an initiative conceived as an evolving archive that explores family histories. We are interviewing people, and inviting photographs and assorted memorabilia (postcards, letters, scrapbooks, mementos etc). So far we have had several wonderful video interviews all around Goa, that give us a peek into lives and times that are not normally in the mainstream.

We envision the archive to become a participatory space for people to contribute personal and collective stories that shape the experience of place – these are unseen, but vital stories. It is a community project, that will reflect in a physical + digital repository of images and stories that will be made accessible to a larger audience. A portion of the archive will be presented as part of Serendipity Arts Festival 2019. I am working on this project with Akshay Mahajan, photographer and cultural practitioner also based in Goa.

People can logon to the site upload their stories and contributions.

 

Before you go – you might like to browse the Asian Curator curatorial archives . Contemporary art curators and international gallerists define their curatorial policies and share stories and insights about the inner runnings of the contemporary art world.