The Sahmat Collective: Art and Activism in India since 1989

April 19 – August 2, 2015

Since 1989, the Delhi-based Sahmat Collective has given artists, writers, poets, musicians, and actors a platform to create and present works of art that promote artistic freedom and celebrate secular, egalitarian values. This exhibition introduces Sahmat’s work to the United States and provides fresh insights into two timely subjects: contemporary visual art from India, and art as a force for political activism and social change. The Sahmat Collective presents a survey of art and ephemera from this unique—and sometimes controversial—collective and illustrates its impact on contemporary Indian society and artistic practice over the last two decades.

The Sahmat Collective includes works in a variety of media from over sixty artists including Vivan Sundaram, whose recent works will be featured in a solo exhibition at the Fowler entitled Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram. This exhibition is curated by Jessica Moss, Smart Museum Associate Curator for Contemporary Art, and Ram Rahman, photographer and independent curator.

Exhibition in Depth

Sahmat’s Legacy (2013), 3 minutes, 36 seconds. Produced by the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago

For more videos about Sahmat, click here.

Press Release

The Sahmat Collective: Art and Activism in India since 1989

Exhibition Credits

The Sahmat Collective: Art and Activism since 1989 is organized by the Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago. The Sahmat Collective is made possible by The Smart Family Foundation; Helen Zell; the Efroymson Family Fund, a CICF Fund; The Joyce Foundation; and the National Endowment for the Arts. This exhibition is curated by Jessica Moss, Smart Museum Associate Curator for Contemporary Art, and Ram Rahman, photographer and independent curator.