We recently connected with Kuhu Kopariha from the Art South Asia Project (ASAP) to talk about their mission to build long-term connections between South Asia and the UK’s art sectors. Founded in 2021, the initiative was established to support infrastructure for modern and contemporary arts in South Asia. ASAP offers grants and creates opportunities for engagement through collaborative programmes focused on research, archiving, curation and publication.
“We want to create opportunities to have long-term impact,” Kuhu explained. “To provide sustained support to institutions and art professionals in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal … and through collaborative programmes create networks of connection between South Asian countries and between South Asia and the UK.”
While this type of cross-border work has precedent, ASAP’s focus is distinct. “We believe that building capacity within institutions and supporting arts professionals will in turn promote the development of careers of arts professionals, curators and artists,” Kuhu told us. “We also focus on developing art historical knowledge of modern and contemporary South Asian Art, as there are several research and curatorial gaps in this particular area.… South Asian art history is often studied within the lens of nation building, and there is scope for studying it in a way that recognises the porous boundaries of the subcontinent.”
Key Insights From Our Comversation
Collaboration over ownership
The commitment to collaboration is at the core of ASAP’s model. “As we built and continue to build ASAP we know we cannot do it alone,” said Kuhu. “And we need to reach our goals through collaboration and partnerships – to learn from our peers and colleagues and the people who are actually working in the region to create the systems that help the institutions.”
This means trusting partners on the ground to define priorities. “We trust our partners and are thankful to them to lead us through our vision at ASAP, we learn tremendously through every grant we have offered thus far and enjoy the legacy and continuation of conversations with each of them.”
One early example was supporting Nepal’s Kala Kulo archive to preserve the work of modernist artist Lain Singh Bangdel. “Even though I was born and raised in India, I was unaware of the tremendous body of work by artist Lain Singh Bangdel. I was introduced to this work through Kala Kulo, after I joined the Art South Asia Project team,” Kuhu admitted. “This is why we trust our partners—they know which histories are in danger of disappearing.”
Archiving the present as well as the past
For ASAP, archiving includes the contemporary moment. In Pakistan, they funded the Urban Repository Archive at the Indus Valley School of Art to preserve final-year student projects.
“The Urban Repository Archive (URA) is a collection of artworks produced by the alumni of Indus Valley School of Art (IVS). The grantees Seher Naveer and Veera Rastogi realised that not all students from the Department of Fine Arts were continuing their practice or pursuing artistic careers,” Kuhu explained. “Thus, it became important to document these student works and preserve them in a publicly accessible archive. Without the URA project, the experimental practices of IVS students wouldn’t become a part of the current art landscape. The archive is now public in a website format for anyone to access and that’s so cool.”
Interrogating representation
Recent years have brought more South Asian artists into UK galleries, but Kuhu questions whether this visibility translates into lasting recognition.
“We recently hosted an Art Murmur discussing UK-based artist Rasheed Araeen’s practice. While promoting it I was surprised to find how many people were unaware of the artist’s 60-year-long practice in this country,” she said. “So yes, I do think that robust, inclusive and ongoing representation is often missing.”
Representation, she argued, must go beyond surface inclusion. “Over the past few years, we have been witness to incredible events and exhibitions showcasing South Asian artists in the UK. Yet, important questions about these events remain; What is the context within which these artists inhabit both South Asia and the UK? How can they engage with the public besides the act of looking at an artwork? And is the act of exhibition-making facilitating a long-lasting engagement with the artist, subject or region?”
Exchange with intent
While cultural exchange exists, ASAP stresses it must be purposeful. “South Asian artists and communities have shared a long history of migration with the UK,” Kuhu said. “These connections are ongoing, long-standing and historic. And yet these connections have been omitted in institutional discourse, and the contributions of migrant artists are yet to be discussed within educational institutions within the UK.”
Keep it public and accessible
ASAP also invests in resources that are open to all. Their website hosts The ASAP Library, a South Asian art calendar, gallery guides, along with Art Murmur, a series of conversations that began with practical skills and evolved into topical debates.
“Making things publicly accessible is very important to us,” Kuhu said. “We want a young individual to go on our site, watch an Art Murmur talk, and really learn something they can apply. We have a repository of more than 30 videos on our website. I always find the Art Murmur series inspiring and find things I was unaware of, despite the fact that I have worked in the field for several years.”
Connect with ASAP
If you’re an arts professional or student, check out their library and join the conversation and explore their programmes and resources via:
- 🌐 Website: www.artsouthasiaproject.org
- 📺 Watch talks on the Art Murmur archive
- 📣 Follow ASAP on Instagram