Nandita Kumar

Nandita Kumar was born in 1981 in Pamplemousses, Mauritius.{{Cite web |date=7 April 2011 |title=Nandita Kumar |url=https://www.space118.com/artist/nandita-kumar/ |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=Space118 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Nandita Kumar |url=http://www.felixfrachon.com/nandita-kumar-2/ |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=Galerie Felix Frachon |language=fr-FR}} She grew up in different locations in India, never staying in the same place for long.Article on Nandita Kumar in Vogue (August 2012), [https://nanditakumar.com/media-press/ accessible at Kumar's website] Kumar was interested in art from an early age. In her youth, her father introduced her to the work of Malcolm de Chazal, and they sat and painted together.Interview with Nandita Kumar in En Mode (September 2012), [https://nanditakumar.com/media-press/ accessible at Kumar's website] Kumar's family migrated from India to New Zealand.

Kumar initially worked as a programmer before pursuing a career in art.{{Cite web |date=29 June 2022 |title=Using art to democratise environment data |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/using-art-to-democratise-environment-data-videos-205652 |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=Outlook India |language=en}} She holds Bachelors of Fine Arts from both the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India and the Elam School of Fine Arts of the University of Auckland in New Zealand. From 2006 to 2009 she studied at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the United States,{{Cite web |title=Nandita Kumar – Media Art South Asia |url=https://mediaartsouthasia.org/nandita-kumar/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422013942/https://mediaartsouthasia.org/nandita-kumar/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=22 April 2021 |access-date=21 August 2022 |language=en-US}} from which she holds a Master of Fine Arts in Experimental Animation and Filmmaking.

Kumar alternates between being based in Auckland, New Zealand and in Mumbai{{Cite web |last=Westman |first=Nancy |date=22 December 2017 |title=Självständig finländsk konst |url=https://www.opulens.se/konst/sjalvstandig-finlandsk-konst/ |access-date=21 August 2022 |website=Opulens |language=sv-SE}}Kumar, Nandita (25 May 2015) "[https://issuu.com/lakeeren/docs/nandita_kumar___let_the_brain_fly_- LetTtHe bRAinFly]", Lakeeren Gallery or Goa, India.{{Cite web |last=Graver |first=David |date=21 March 2016 |title=Female Artists at the 10th Annual Art Dubai |url=https://coolhunting.com/culture/female-artists-art-dubai-2016/ |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=Cool Hunting |language=en-US}}

Kumar's artwork is often focused on climate change, contradictions between natural and industrial landscapes and personal identities.{{Cite web |last=Sanyal |first=Amitava |date=5 December 2010 |title=Beyond Anish |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/beyond-anish/story-ovTGsfGkg6jT0O8vGP2M5O.html |access-date=21 August 2022 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}} Her installations combine art with technology, environmental science and interactive elements to make information on climate change accessible. Technological elements that have been used in her art includes motherboards, smartphone apps, sound, animation, video, and microwave and solar sensors.{{Cite web |title=Nandita Kumar – Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD |url=https://www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de/de/artist/nandita-kumar/ |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de}} In addition to complex art installations, Kumar also creates animations, paintings, and interactive sculptures, integrating different media techniques and technologies.

Kumar's work has been displayed at film festivals and art exhibitions worldwide.{{Cite web |title=Nandita Kumar |url=https://www.latitude28.com/artist/nandita-kumar/ |access-date=21 August 2022 |website=Latitude 28 |language=en-US}} In 2009, Kumar curated the experimental film section of the festival SPIEL09 in Austria. She had her first own art exhibition in 2010, Let the Brain Fly, which included 25 works all related to "travelling along the nodes of a brain". In 2011–2012, Kumar curated the community art project Ghar Pe/At Home in Hong Kong. Her artwork has been featured in group exhibitions such as Exo-Evolution at the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe in 2015, ARS17: Hello world! at Kiasma in Helsinki in 2017, and Delirium/Equilibrium at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in New Delhi in 2018.{{Cite web |title=Nandita Kumar {{!}} Biography |url=https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Nandita-Kumar/60A3D43226F5758B/Biography |access-date=21 August 2022 |website=MutualArt |language=en}} She was one of the artists exhibiting work at the India Art Fair in New Delhi in 2015. Kumar's art piece at the fair, a machine that mimicked the handwriting of visitors, garnered much attention.{{Cite web |date=5 February 2012 |title=India Art Fair in New Delhi draws art-hungry middle class |url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2015/02/05/india-art-fair-in-new-delhi-draws-art-hungry-middle-class |access-date=21 August 2022 |website=Euronews |language=en}}

Kumar has spoken at TEDx and at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.

Kumar's short film Birth of a Brain Fly won an award for "Best Original Music" at the 2008 Cinema Mundo festival in Brazil. The film was also included on the "Best of Sydney Underground" DVD released after the 2009 Sydney Underground Film Festival. In 2014, Kumar was a nominee for a New Technological Art Award (NTAA),{{Cite web |title=Nominees for New Technological Art Award 2014/Update_5 – Announcements – e-flux |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/31006/nominees-for-new-technological-art-award-2014-update-5/ |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=www.e-flux.com |language=en}} the first person from India to be nominated for the award.Article on Nandita Kumar in Bazaar (2014), [https://nanditakumar.com/media-press/ accessible at Kumar's website] In 2022, she was among nineteen "outstanding practitioners in the fields of visual arts, film, literature, and music" selected as a fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program.{{Cite web |date=15 January 2022 |title=DAAD Artists-in-Berlin 2022 fellows – Announcements – e-flux |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/441502/daad-artists-in-berlin-2022-fellows/ |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=www.e-flux.com |language=en}} Kumar was among numerous "ecologically conscious" contemporary artists highlighted by art critics Maja and Reuben Fowkes in their 2022 book Art and Climate Change.{{Cite book |last1=Fowkes |first1=Maja |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1B-EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT173 |title=Art and Climate Change |last2=Fowkes |first2=Reuben |date=2022 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-77784-8 |language=en |chapter=Self-Management of Plants}}

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Category:1981 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Pamplemousses District

Category:Indian women contemporary artists

Category:Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni

Category:Elam Art School alumni

Category:California Institute of the Arts alumni

Category:New media artists