28th ANNUAL NO DEAD ARTISTS
International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Art"First Saturdays" Opening Receptions - 7 September + 5 October 5-9 PM
September 3 – October 19, 2024
Artist Statement
My research critically engages with societal concerns, expanding into decolonial practices and identity politics. My work continuously moves beyond cultural constructs, challenging restrictive beliefs and biased identities. By critiquing "otherness" and oppressed identities, I reimagine the self, identity, and sense of belonging, freeing them from the lens of oppressive power and dominant norms. I navigate these themes freely and fluidly, embracing both the 'other' and my own unsettled freedom.
Through a feminist lens, I intertwine various realities and concerns, using literal and metaphorical landscapes to reflect displaced connections and examine the discursive relationship between knowledge and being. Drawing from diverse influences, my art responds to the complexities of the human condition within entangled cultural, socio-political, and imbalanced environments.
I aim to occupy space by amplifying voices often silenced by traditional assumptions and expectations, shedding light on the complex, intersectional, and interconnected nature of violence. Most recently, I have explored rage, anger, and compassion through the use of the color red, symbolizing our shared color of blood. Rooted in interdisciplinary and pluralistic approaches, my deep engagement with material exploration and multimedia creates space for unique, hybrid, and fluid identities to build new, complex, and inclusive narratives. Through non-representation and abstraction, I simplify forms, allowing seamless transitions between tangible and intangible concepts. My works represent the embodiment of the self and the unrepresented.
Biography
Ina Kaur (b. 1980) is a multidisciplinary artist whose conceptually driven work responds to imbalances and injustices within social, cultural, and ecological environments. Her practice explores intersectional frameworks within contemporary issues related to colonialism and its lasting impacts.
Her multidisciplinary art practice has been exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally. Kaur has gained significant attention, resulting in invitations to lectures and conferences across America, Europe, and South Asia. A recipient of numerous grants and awards, she is also deeply committed to community engagement, developing initiatives, and participating in responsive artistic practices.
In 2018, Kaur was honored with the Emerging Voice Award from the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University. This recognition highlights her success in achieving career goals, serving her community, and representing the college through bold leadership and broad thinking.
Kaur currently serves as the Curator of Creative Practice and Community Engagement Coordinator at the Newcomb Art Museum while continuing to teach studio art courses at Tulane University. A native of New Delhi, India, she now lives and works in New Orleans, LA.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2023 Master of Fine Arts Tulane University (Ceramic), New Orleans, LA
2007 Master of Fine Arts Distinction (Studio Art) Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN
2003 Bachelor of Fine Arts Distinction (Print), Punjab University, Chandigarh, PB, India
Solo Exhibitions
2024 Abstracted Realities, Foreman Gallery of Contemporary Art, Oneonta, NY
2024 Mis(s)Re(a)d, The Front Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2024 Self as the Other, Overbrook Gallery, Muskegon, MI
2023 The Other One, Carroll Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2022 Becoming Unbound, Carroll Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2020 Living: Once or Never, InkSpace Studio, Bangalore, KA, India
Juried/Peer Reviewed* and Curated Group Exhibitions
2024 Unearthed: Archetypes of Resilience, NOLA 'NACULAR, Magazine St, New Orleans, LA
SPECTRUM, Todd Art Gallery, Radical Intersectional Print Guild, Middle Tennessee State
University, TN
Fantastic Realities, visual art gallery, India Habitat center, New Delhi, India
2023 Point of Entry*: A collection of works exploring text as form, object, and reference
Staples Good Gallery, New Orleans, LA
ROE 2.0,* Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Jade Wave Rising,* 26th Annual Asian American Artists Association, San Francisco, CA
Muliebris, * Benedicta Arts Center Gorecki Gallery, MN
2022 Artists Respond: Post-Roe Louisiana, * Carroll Gallery, New Orleans, LA
BIPOC is The Theme!,* Buckham Gallery Flint, MI
Speculative Futures, Ruffin Hall, The University of Virginia, VA
Blueprint _ Printed Coloniality, MIAD Gallery at The Ave, Milwaukee, WI
On paper, Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH
2021 The Beginning*, Virtual exhibition, Aetitud Art Gallery
She Contains Multitudes, Purdue’s Ringel Gallery, West Lafayette, IN
Paradigm Paradox, Printmakers Open Forum’s Broadside Salon, USA
In Collaboration, Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art, Mortin Gallery, Kennesaw, GA
Enchanted Breath, virtual exhibition, Kankali Trust, India
Indelible | Indexical, East Ringel Gallery, W. Lafayette, IN
2020 Once Together, P.R.o.M. Micro-Conference, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
Printmaker, Interrupted, virtual exhibition, Normal Editions, ISU, Normal, IL
Mixed Media, CIMA Gallery, Kolkata, WB, India
Affordable Art Mela, Centre of Modern Art, Nehru Center, Mumbai, MH, India
Awards, Honors and Recognition
2023 Newcomb Institute Grant, “Centering the Margins: the framework for the other,” Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
2022 Multicultural Fellowship, NCECA, Fertile Grounds, Sacramento, CA
2022 Summer Research Fellowship, Tulane University, School of Liberal Arts, New Orleans, LA
2022 MIAD Prints, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Emerging Voice Award, Purdue College of Liberal Arts, West Lafayette, IN
2018 Indo-European, International Interdisciplinary Project, Kolkata, WB, India
2018 Sowing Seed, Kallron Ki Dhani, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
2017 Rosehips Center Marpha Foundation, Mustang District, Nepal
2014 Outstanding Scholarship Award, College of Arts & Letters, The University of Tampa, FL
Visiting Artist, Lectures, Panels and Socially Engaged Projects
2024 The Red Line, Body Happening, The Front Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Ground Plan by the Master Draftsman, Body Happening, Overbrook Gallery, MI
2023 Soiled Bodies: Expanded Field in Ceramic, Lecture NCECA Conference, Cincinnati, OH
2022 Radical Intersectional Printmakers' Guild's, Panel Discussion,
Mid America Print Council conference “Power of Print”, Kent, OH
Ina Kaur: Art, Embodiment and Practice, Artist Lecture, Anderson lecture series,
The Pennsylvania State University, School of Visual Arts, PA
Contemporary art practices: artistic journey across cultural and ethnic borders, Panel
Discussion, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, WI
Embodied artistic Practice, Artist Talk, Equity & Inclusion Center, MIAD, Milwaukee, WI
Art, Embodiment and Practice, Artist Lecture, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY
2021-present Crescent City Clay Connection, New Orleans, LA
2021 Occupy Space: 2020 till 2021, Artist lecture, Wellesley College, Jewett Arts Centre, MA
Burnt, scraped, fragmented, History, Practices and Ideas explored in Indian Crafts, Artist
Lecture, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
Pecha Kucha, Artist Talk, Stone Auditorium, Woldenberg Art Centre, New Orleans, LA
Artist Impressions: 2020 in Hindsight, Artist lecture, Wellesley College, MA
2020 - 2024 Once Together, curator, An International community-based project
2020 Reflections on Color, Artist Interview, curated by Laura Berman
“Shifting impression of our times” panel Moderator and presenter, Relief Micro-Conference,
Artist lecture, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
Can art always reflect the state of its time? Or are some moments in history so severe, that
Art becomes unimportant? Panel Discussion_Webinar, CIMA Gallery, Kolkata, WB, India
A Stilled Life, a 2020 Pandemic Impulses, interview, Ananya Drishya Project, Bangalore, KA
Other Professional Experience
2023-2024 Curator of Creative Practice, Community Engagement, Newcomb Art Museum, LA
2023-2024 Visiting Professor, Ceramic, Tulane University. New Orleans, LA
2016-2021 Faculty, Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Bangalore, KA, India
2015-2016 Associate Professor of Art, The University of Tampa, Tampa, FL
2010–2015 Assistant Professor of Art, The University of Tampa, Tampa, FL
2007-2010 Instructor of Art, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
Permanent collections
Work in Museum, Institution, and other public collections
Numerous private collections in U.S, Canada, UK & India
Associazione Nazionale Incisori Contemporanei, Montebelluna, Italy
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, Christchurch, New Zealand
Granska Galerija Uzice – (Dry point collection) City Gallery of Uzice, Slanuska
Proyecto’ace Print Collection, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ronnebaeksholm Arts & Culture Centre, Naestved, Denmark
The School of Art, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
Turku Art Museum, Turku, Finland
Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates