Room 314, Patrick French Black Box
School of Arts and Sciences
Central Campus
In the presentation, Sundari—An Actor Prepares, a film by Madhusree Dutta will be screened at the beginning of the seminar to launch into an insightful discussion between celebrated artist Nilima Sheikh and renowned theatre director Anuradha Kapur where they delve into their experiences of collaboration across visual and performance arts. Both practitioners, known for their nuanced explorations of history, memory, and storytelling, reflect on how their creative dialogues with each other and otherwise, have informed and shaped their respective practices.
Nilima Sheikh, whose works often engage with themes of displacement, feminist histories, and literary traditions, will speak about how interdisciplinary collaboration enriches her artistic process. She will discuss her engagements with theatre and how working with performers and dramaturgs has broadened her approach to spatial storytelling where her use of traditional painting techniques—such as tempera and scroll paintings—finds new resonance when integrated into performance settings, allowing her imagery and narratives to be brought to life in dynamic, moving spaces.
Anuradha Kapur, an innovative theatre director with a deep engagement in experimental and site-specific work, will share insights into how visual elements play a crucial role in shaping theatrical experiences. She will reflect on working with artists like Nilima Sheikh to create scenographies that extend beyond conventional stagecraft, allowing for an interplay between painted surfaces, moving bodies, and the spoken word. Through these exchanges, she will highlight the evolving role of the visual in performance, where painted canvases and installations become active participants in storytelling and artistic enquiry.
Together, they will unpack the intricacies of collaborative practice, acknowledging both its challenges and rewards as a language and as a practice. They will discuss the question of artistic autonomy within shared creative spaces and the organic evolution of ideas when working across disciplines. Their conversation, moderated by Professor Kathyayini Dash, will illuminate how collaboration fosters deeper artistic inquiry and facilitates a pushing of the boundaries of their respective mediums to create immersive, multi-sensory experiences.
Nilima (Dhanda) Sheikh was born in 1945 in Delhi. After graduating in History at Delhi University, she trained at Baroda during 1965-7 in Fine Arts. Nilima Sheikh’s paintings use visual and textual layering using the additive principle and are influenced by North Indian, Asian and European histories of tempera painting often marked by an interchange of lore and histories, offering glimpses of a multiple mise en scene, and a commitment to feminist realities. She has written on art in books, journals or as catalogue essays; and illustrated books for children. In the 1990s, as part of Vivadi, a women’s collective, she designed for theatre productions. In collaboration with fellow artists, and craftspeople from Srinagar she was part of the making of a large mural for the airport in Mumbai. Her solo exhibitions include Terrain: Carrying Across Leaving Behind, 2017-2018; Each Night put Kashmir in your Dreams 2014. Recent group participations include Thinking Historically in the Present, Sharjah Biennial 15, Sharjah, 2023; Dhaka Art Summit, Dhaka, 2020, Kochi Muziris Biennale, Kochi, 2018; Documenta 14, Athens and Kassel, 2017.
Anuradha Kapur is a theatre maker and teacher. Her theatre work has travelled nationally and internationally and she has taught in theatre schools and Universities in India and abroad. She is a founder member of Vivadi, a working group of theatre practitioners, visual artists, film-makers, musicians and writers. Her writings on performance have been widely anthologised and her book Actors Pilgrims Kings and Gods: the Ramlila at Ramnagar was published by Seagull Books, Calcutta (1993, 2004). Anuradha Kapur was invited to curate the performance window for Body. City: Siting Contemporary Culture in India, presented at the House of World Cultures, Berlin, September 2003. She co-curated the theatre section of the Serendipity Arts Festival Goa in 2016 and 2017; ITFOK in 2017 and 2023. Anuradha Kapur served as Director, National School of Drama, New Delhi, from 2007 to 2013, where she was also Professor of Acting and Direction. She has been Visiting Professor at Ambedkar University Delhi from 2014 to 2023; at the University of Cape Town in 2013, and at the University of Warwick in 2013, and 2023. Anuradha Kapur was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for direction in 2004.
