TAKE on Art and Arthshila host a landmark two-day international symposium
This weekend in Delhi, TAKE on Art brings together some of the most compelling voices in contemporary art and Indigenous thought for a groundbreaking symposium. Titled Indigenous: Resistant Epistemologies and the Normative Frame of the Contemporary, the two-day event runs on Friday, August 22, and Saturday, August 23, 2025, at Arthshila, Delhi.
Conceived by curator and writer Katya García-Antón and presented by TAKE on Art Editor-in-Chief Bhavna Kakar, the symposium convenes over 30 artists, curators, writers, poets, researchers, and knowledge-keepers from across India and the world. At its heart is a vital exploration: how Indigenous knowledge systems, ancestrality, and worldviews can be understood, celebrated, and reimagined within the normative frames of contemporary art.
A critical gathering of voices
The event is not merely an academic conference, but a space for dialogue, resistance, and reimagination. Participants will address how Indigenous practices challenge colonial frameworks while asserting their artistic agency. Themes of ancestrality, coloniality, and contemporary life will guide conversations across panels, performances, and presentations.
In a world where Indigenous knowledge is increasingly recognised as central to ecological survival, cultural diversity, and historical justice, this symposium positions art as a powerful medium of transmission and transformation.
Building on TAKE’s Indigenous issue
The symposium extends the conversations launched in TAKE on Art’s Spring 2025 issue, “Indigenous”, which foregrounds the transformative role of Indigenous Indian visual arts within the global art ecosystem. The issue highlights how transnational dynamics have shaped both visibility and vulnerability for Indigenous practices—raising questions of preservation, appropriation, and exchange.
By creating a platform that amplifies Indigenous voices, TAKE underscores the need for mindful, respectful engagement: one that honours diversity, preserves fragile traditions, and recognises Indigenous arts as vital contributors to contemporary discourse.
A program of global resonance
For two days, sessions will feature discussions, readings, and interventions from practitioners working across various geographies and disciplines. Together, they will map resistant epistemologies—ways of knowing and being that defy the flattening of culture under global systems.
Attendees in Delhi will experience these conversations in person at Arthshila, while a broader audience can join via YouTube livestreams. This hybrid approach expands the symposium’s reach, reflecting TAKE’s commitment to accessibility and international exchange.
Registration and participation
The symposium is free to attend with prior registration. Those interested can write to takeonartmag@gmail.com to secure a place. For those unable to travel to Delhi, the event will also be broadcast online, ensuring participation from a genuinely global community.
