Nandita Kumar
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Nandita Kumar (born 1981) is a New Zealand
new media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of new media, electronic media technologies. It comprises virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robo ...
ist. Her artwork often explores
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, contradictions between natural and industrial landscapes, and personal identities and makes use of technological and interactive elements.


Personal life and education

Nandita Kumar was born in 1981 in Pamplemousses,
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. She grew up in different locations in India, never staying in the same place for long.Article on Nandita Kumar in ''Vogue'' (August 2012)
accessible at Kumar's website
/ref> Kumar was interested in art from an early age. In her youth, her father introduced her to the work of
Malcolm de Chazal Malcolm de Chazal (12 September 1902 – 1 October 1981) was a Mauritian writer, painter, and visionary, known especially for his ''Sens-Plastique'', a work consisting of several thousand aphorisms and pensées. Early life and education Chaza ...
, and they sat and painted together. Kumar's family migrated from India to New Zealand. Kumar initially worked as a programmer before pursuing a career in art. She holds Bachelors of Fine Arts from both the
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a public university on April 30, 1949 and was renamed after ...
in India and the
Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the University of Auckland Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. It offered the first Bachelor of ...
of the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
in New Zealand. From 2006 to 2009 she studied at the
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
(CalArts) in the United States, from which she holds a Master of Fine Arts in Experimental Animation and Filmmaking. Kumar alternates between being based in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand and in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
Kumar, Nandita (25 May 2015)
LetTtHe bRAinFly
, Lakeeren Gallery
or
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
, India.


Career

Kumar's artwork is often focused on
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, contradictions between natural and industrial landscapes and personal identities. 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
motherboard A motherboard, also called a mainboard, a system board, a logic board, and informally a mobo (see #Nomenclature, "Nomenclature" section), is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems. It ho ...
s,
smartphone apps A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on des ...
, sound, animation, video, and microwave and solar sensors. 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. 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 Community art, also known as social art, community-engaged art, community-based art, and, rarely, dialogical art, is the practice of art based in—and generated in—a community setting. It is closely related to social practice and social turn. ...
project ''Ghar Pe/At Home'' in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. Her artwork has been featured in group exhibitions such as ''Exo-Evolution'' at the Center for Art and Media in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
in 2015, ''ARS17: Hello world!'' at
Kiasma Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name ''kiasma'', Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. Kiasma is part of the Finnish National Gallery, an ...
in
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
in 2017, and ''Delirium/Equilibrium'' at the
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) is a private modern and contemporary art museum with locations in New Delhi and Noida. Established in 2010, it is India's first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art. History The museum s ...
in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
in 2018. She was one of the artists exhibiting work at the
India Art Fair India Art Fair, previously known as India Art Summit founded bSunil Gautam is an annual Indian modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary art festival, art fair held in New Delhi, New Delhi, India. The fair includes paintings, sculptur ...
in New Delhi in 2015. Kumar's art piece at the fair, a machine that mimicked the handwriting of visitors, garnered much attention. Kumar has spoken at
TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...
and at the
Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai ...
in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
.


Recognition

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), the first person from India to be nominated for the award. 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 The DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program (German: Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD) is a residential program for artists of all countries and ages run by the German Academic Exchange Service (German: 'Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst', DAAD) ...
. Kumar was among numerous "ecologically conscious" contemporary artists highlighted by art critics Maja and Reuben Fowkes in their 2022 book ''Art and Climate Change''.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Nandita 1981 births Living people People from Pamplemousses District Indian women contemporary artists Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni Elam Art School alumni California Institute of the Arts alumni New media artists