Raqs Media Collective

Raqs Media Collective
Name	Raqs Media Collective
Members	Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, Shuddhabrata Sengupta
Formed	1992
Origin	Kolkata, India
Fields	Contemporary art, Curatorial practice, Film, Performance

Raqs Media Collective is a contemporary art group founded in Kolkata in 1992 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta. The collective produces projects spanning installation, video, performance, and curatorial initiatives, engaging with urbanism, temporality, and knowledge networks. Their practice has intersected with international institutions such as Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Serpentine Gallery, and Documenta across major cultural circuits including Venice Biennale, Gwangju Biennale, and Sharjah Biennial.

History and Formation

Formed in Kolkata, the group emerged amid the postcolonial art milieus of India and the globalized circuits of the 1990s, interacting with artists and institutions like Sheela Gowda, Nalini Malani, Reena Saini Kallat, Bose Krishnamachari, and curators from Asia Society. Early collaborations included dialogues with Sonic Arts Network programmers, screenings at Cinematheque, and contributions to platforms such as Sarai and BOMB Magazine. The trio studied and worked across nodes including Jadavpur University, Rabindra Bharati University, and international residencies at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Werkleitz, and ACC Gallery Tokyo, which shaped engagements with urban histories and mediated publics observed in their later projects.

Artistic Practice and Themes

The collective’s practice weaves installation, moving image, performance, and curatorial strategies, linking archives, ephemeral interventions, and public discourse. Dialogues with thinkers and institutions such as Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida, Hannah Arendt, and art historians at Centre Pompidou inform their attention to temporality, memory, and the city. They frequently reference and reconfigure artifacts associated with Bengal Renaissance, Partition of India, and the infrastructural histories of Kolkata, connecting to visual cultures found in collections at Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, and National Gallery of Modern Art. Their work engages with networks exemplified by collaborations with Documenta 13 curators, programming at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and dialogues with scholars from Jawaharlal Nehru University and School of Oriental and African Studies.

Major Works and Projects

Notable works include multimedia installations and video essays that juxtapose archival footage, live performance, and found objects. Projects shown at Tate Britain and Modern Art Oxford have foregrounded metropolitan imaginaries and debt economies, while commissions for The Liverpool Biennial and Hayward Gallery explored infrastructures and imaginaries of the future. The group’s film works have been screened at Berlin International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and curated programs at Centre Pompidou. Major commissions include public interventions for Greater London Authority and site-specific installations for K20 Düsseldorf and MAXXI Roma, engaging public spaces and institutional archives.

Exhibitions and Biennales

The collective has participated in major international exhibitions including Venice Biennale editions, the Gwangju Biennale, the Sharjah Biennial, and Liverpool Biennial. Solo and group presentations have been hosted by institutions such as Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Serpentine Galleries, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Haus der Kunst, and Stedelijk Museum. They have contributed to thematic shows curated by figures like Okwui Enwezor, Massimiliano Gioni, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Chantal Mouffe, and participated in programs at Documenta and projects linked to Asia Art Archive and e-flux.

Publications and Media Contributions

The collective has authored essays, catalogues, and artist books, contributing to publications by Tate Publishing, Sternberg Press, Afterall, and MIT Press. They have written for journals and platforms including Frieze, Artforum, Third Text, Flash Art, and C Magazine, and participated in edited volumes with contributions alongside scholars from Columbia University, New York University, Goldsmiths, and University of Chicago. Their curatorial texts and manifestos have appeared in exhibition catalogues for institutions such as Serpentine, MAXXI, and Kunsthalle Zürich, and they have collaborated with publishers like Routledge and Bloomsbury on thematic essays about urban culture and archives.

Awards and Recognition

The collective has received grants, fellowships, and awards from cultural bodies including Prince Claus Fund, Governing Council of India arts schemes, and residency fellowships at Stanford Humanities Center and Camargo Foundation. Recognition includes inclusion in major museum acquisitions at Tate Modern and Museum of Modern Art, invitations to speak at universities and institutions such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, Sorbonne University, and honors from festivals including Sundance Film Festival program selections and festival awards at International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.

Category:Indian contemporary artists Category:Art collectives