Pritika Chowdhry

Pritika Chowdhry (born 1973, India) is a Chicago-based socio-political artist known for her feminist anti-memorials to the Partition of India. Her research-based practices are focused on creating anti-memorials to traumatic geopolitical events from a counter-memory perspective. Her work has been displayed in numerous museums and galleries worldwide.[1].

Early Life and Education
Chowdhry was born in 1973, in Karnataka, India. She migrated to the United States in 1999, where she pursued her higher education in Art. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Arts (2005), MFA in Studio Art (2008), and MA in Visual Culture and Gender Studies (2009) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison[2].

Career
After her graduation, Chowdhry taught Fiber and Material Studies as a Visiting Assistant Professor at College of Visual Arts and Macalester College, St. Paul, MN.[2] She has also been an independent curator and studio artist since 2003. She’s currently the Senior Curator of the South Asia Institute and a Board Member of the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL[3][4].

Works
Anti-memorials for Geopolitical Events
Chowdhry has studied the issue of partition in countries that were divided based on ethnic fissures to examine the motives behind the separations. She uses art to spread awareness about such partitions[5].

Chowdhry is a socio-political activist, and her artwork revolves around depicting traumatic geopolitical events like 9/11 and the Partition of India through art[6] [7][8][9][10]. Her work, “The Crooked Lines,” is an amalgam of silk panels printed with ‘geographical’ borders. These borders represent various political turmoil areas, such as India-Pakistan, Palestine-Israel, Korea, Vietnam, and Germany[11].

Partition Memorial Project (PMP)
Chowdhry founded the Partition Memorial Project[12], which involves educating the masses about the destructive effects of partitions on nations. She creates experimental art installations that dislodge the nationalist histories of India’s partition. The project sheds light on the colonial and postcolonial state processes of identity and communal conflict, especially for women in these disputed areas. It has nine installations: Queering Mother India, What the Body Remembers, Silent Waters, Remembering the Crooked Line, Memory Leaks, An Archive of the Year 1919, This Handful of Dust, The Masters’ Tongues, and Broken Column[13][14].

Counter-Memory Project (CMP)
Chowdhry also founded the Counter-Memory Project (CMP), which raises awareness about the mechanisms behind the cultural memory of different nations. She uses anti-memorials to extract counter-memories of current and historical events. One of her most notable works is Ungrievable Lives, which depicts the 9/11 attack in the United States. She has also created anti-memorials for other terrorist attacks that resemble the 9/11 attack, such as the Madrid Train Bombings (popularly called 3/11), the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attack 2008 (popularly called 26/11), and the 2015 Paris Terror Attack (popularly called 13/11)[15][16].

Sculptural Poems Project
Chowdhry has also made text-based installations which she calls the “Sculptural Poems” project. The works in this series are titled Endlessly, Empty Time, and Naturalized. Chowdhry uses the words “belonging,” “forevermore,” “endlessly,” and “unstill” in the Endlessly installation sculpture to express the emotions experienced by abuse victims, which has been dubbed the Shadow Pandemic. The Empty Time sculptural poem seeks to raise awareness about the growing epidemic of loneliness in modern societies. The Naturalized sculptural poem reflects on the immigrant experience[17][18][19].

The Nirbhaya Project
Chowdhry also founded the Nirbhaya Project, which centers around the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case. She created a sculpture for the victim, Nirbhaya, depicting her as a superheroine. The project also paid tribute to the protestors who took the streets after the incident[20].

Notable Exhibitions
Solo Art Exhibition at Rohtas 2 Gallery in Lahore
In 2011, Pritika was invited to Lahore as a visiting artist by the Beacon House University, where she spread awareness about geopolitical divisions through a solo exhibition of her works from the Partition Memorial Project at Rohtas 2 Gallery.

Her artwork display included works from the Remembering and The Crooked Line installations that included maps drawn, burnt, and sewn-on cholis (blouses), kurties (short shirts), and kites suspended on different levels. She also incorporated cow and pig guts into the kites to make a statement, as both these materials are considered unacceptable due to religious reasons, in India and Pakistan, respectively[21][22][23][24].

Solo Art Exhibition at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago
Pritika was invited to exhibit Remembering the Crooked Line as a solo art exhibition at the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago in 2009[25].

Fragments of this installation were also shown in Delhi[26][27][28] at the Seven Arts Gallery, in Germany at the Nature Morte Gallery, and in Minneapolis[29][30] at the Banfill Locke Center for the Arts.

Solo Art Exhibition at the DoVA Temporary
In 2009, Pritika was invited to do a solo exhibition at the DoVA Temporary at the University of Chicago. She exhibited her “What the Body Remembers” installation to raise awareness about using rape as a weapon of war in ethnoreligious conflicts and partitions. The work uses twice-life-scale lower halves of the female body, engaged in childhood games of jump-rope, hopscotch, and swinging. The hollow half figures are suspended from the ceiling, with a steam engine train approaching and leaving the haunting soundscape[31][32].

“R.U.R.” Art Exhibition at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis
In 2014, Pritika was invited to participate in the R.U.R exhibition and the Midwest Biennial at the Soap Factory[33] where she displayed the Broken Column installation and the Endlessly sculptural poem, respectively. The Broken Column exhibit juxtaposes latex and silicone casts of significant monuments from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh - the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, the Jallianwallan Bagh Memorial in Amritsar, and the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in Dhaka. These three monuments depict the Partition of India of 1947 and the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 that resulted in the creation of India and Pakistan, and Bangladesh, respectively[34][35][36]

“Local Time” Art Exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum
In 2015, Pritika was invited to participate in the Local Time exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum[37], where she exhibited the Silent Waters installation. The installation had 101 larger-than-life-size black ceramic feet filled with saltwater along with a soundscape. It was an anti-memorial sculpture showing the massive forced migrations caused by the Partition of India of 1947 and the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. The Weisman Art Museum later acquired the art[38].

"Islamic Exchange” Art Exhibition at the Kansas City Artist Coalition
In 2013, Pritika was invited to exhibit the Memory Leaks installation at the Kansas City Artists Coalition as part of their “Islamic Exchange” program of events[39]. This installation exposes the cyclical and engineered nature of communal riots in India since the Partition of 1947. The installation included ritualistic vessels, tally marks, burnt newspapers, and the Quran that show the struggles of the minorities, such as Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians[40][41].

“Erasing Borders: Passport to Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora” art exhibition in New York
In 2009, Pritika was invited to participate in the Erasing Borders: Passport to Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora exhibition in New York[42], organized by the Indo-American Arts Council. Pritika displayed parts of her What the Body Remembers and Silent Waters installations. The Erasing Borders exhibition was[43] and traveled to several prestigious venues[44] - the Queens Museum, the Asian Contemporary Art Week organized by the Asia Society and Museum, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Crossing Art Gallery, Dowd Gallery, and Gallery at Penn College.

“Word of Mouth” art exhibition at Woman Made Gallery
In 2022, Pritika was invited to participate in the “Word of Mouth” art exhibition at Woman Made Gallery, in which she exhibited The Masters’ Tongues project[45]. The Masters’ Tongues project represents the exploitative rule of British Colonialism. In this work, Pritika represents how during British rule, the English language was enforced as the language of business and governance in the British colonies, leading to the suppression of the native languages[46].

Curatorial Projects
Pritika Chowdhry founded the Transdiaspora project and curated several exhibitions on the theme of Transdiasporic Art Practices as an independent curator, notably the “Visceral Mappings: Transdiasporic Art Practices” exhibition at University of Wisconsin, Madison;[47] and the “Cultural Memory: Transdiasporic Art Practices” exhibition at the Woman Made Gallery[48]. Currently, she is the Senior Curator at the South Asia Institute[49]

Selected Fellowships, Grants, and Awards
Chowdhry has received several fellowships, grants, and awards during her tenure, including:

Jerome Forecast Public Art Planning Grant (2012)[50]
American Institute of Indian Studies, Creative Arts Fellowship (2011)[51][52]
Minnesota State Arts Board, Artist Initiative Project grant (2011)[53]
Lighton International Artists Exchange Program grant (2010)[54]
Wisconsin Arts Board grant, Madison, Wisconsin (2009)[55]
Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission grant (2009)
BLINK public art grant, City of Madison Arts Commission (2009)
Vilas International Travel Fellowship, University of Wisconsin, Madison (2008)
City of Madison Arts Commission Project grant (2007)[56]
David and Edith Sinaiko Frank Fellowship for a Woman in the Arts, University of Wisconsin (2007)[57]
Karen Entos Award for Ceramics sculpture, University of Wisconsin, Madison (2005)

References
"The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Newspapers, A. B. C. "'Karmic (dis)Continuities' on display at Banfill". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Weiner, Yitzi (2021-12-13). "Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Pritika Chowdhry of the South Asia Institute of Chicago Is Helping…". Authority Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Today In The Culture, December 14, 2021: South Asia Institute Names Curator | Chicago Crits Love West Side Story | Andrew Bird's Holiday Tradition | Newcity". 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"pride Daughter of the North West Malalai has proved that she is worthy of the name". jang.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Artist hopes to spark conversations about traumatic world events". KNXV. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Artist hopes to spark conversations about traumatic world events". KSTU. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Artist hopes to spark conversations about traumatic world events". WSYM. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Artist hopes to spark conversations about traumatic world events". WFTX. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Artist hopes to spark conversations about traumatic world events". WGBA. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Micieli-Voutsinas, Jacque (2015-12-11). "What the Nation Re-members: Resisting Victim Nationalism in Partition Memorial Project". GeoHumanities: 1–16. doi:10.1080/2373566X.2015.1103196.
Micieli-Voutsinas, Jacque (2015-07-03). "What the Nation Re-members: Resisting Victim Nationalism in Partition Memorial Project". GeoHumanities. 1 (2): 398–413. doi:10.1080/2373566X.2015.1103196. ISSN 2373-566X.
Micieli-Voutsinas, Jacque (2013). ""Subaltern" Remembrances: Mapping Affective Approaches to Partition Memory". Social Transformations: Journal of the Global South. 1 (1): 27–58. ISSN 2799-015X.
"Affective Heritage and the Politics of Memory after 9/11: Curating Trauma at the Memorial Museum". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=etd. { {cite web} }: Missing or empty |title= (help)
"The Art of Counter-Memory – LIFE AS A HUMAN". lifeasahuman.com. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Artist creates anti-memorial to Domestic Violence victims, the Shadow Pandemic". Newstrail.com. 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"superusted: The 4th Midwest Biennial". Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Reimagining Nirbhaya: An artist's ode to December 16 victim". Hindustan Times. 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
admin (2021-11-20). "The Masters' Tongues by Pritika Chowdhry". Art House Online Gallery. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"pride Daughter of the North West Malalai has proved that she is worthy of the name". jang.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (2012-01-03). "Artworks remember the crooked line". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Wednesday, Jon Spayde |; June 12; 2013. "A Line or Two: A Nighttime Labyrinth, a Pop-Up Festival". TheLineMedia. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Pritika Chowdhry – Remembering the Crooked Line | Woman Made Gallery". womanmade.org. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Border Line". The Indian Express. 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Border Line". The Indian Express. 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Slideshow: 'Geographies' Exhibit Opens at Banfill-Locke Center for Arts". Fridley, MN Patch. 2011-03-12. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Newspapers, A. B. C. "'Karmic (dis)Continuities' on display at Banfill". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Boundaries and Borderland by Nisha Kommattam". artdaily.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Partition of India, 1947: Boundaries and Borderlands | Partition Memorial Project". NewsBreak Original. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
R.U.R. exhibition at The Soap Factory art gallery (Minneapolis, Minnesota), retrieved 2022-02-02
Bananie, Author Annie (2019-09-28). "Moving Beyond the Boy's Club (with the help of two Lindas)". Ann Sinfield: Projects. Retrieved 2022-02-02. { {cite web} }: |first= has generic name (help)
"ART SHOW INTERNATIONAL GALLERY | Artists, Art for Sale, and Contact Info | Artsy". www.artsy.net. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
www.artnet.com https://www.artnet.com/galleries/art-show-international/artist-pritika-chowdhry/. Retrieved 2022-02-02. { {cite web} }: Missing or empty |title= (help)
(PDF) https://wam.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/WAMLocalTimeNorthernSpark.pdf. { {cite web} }: Missing or empty |title= (help)
https://weisman.emuseum.com/people/6372/prithika-deivasigamani;jsessionid=643C4218EF29E3E5A2788145E0CE93C1/objects. { {cite web} }: Missing or empty |title= (help)
"August 9 – September 21, 2013 – Kansas City Artists Coalition (KCAC)". Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Viewfinder: REwork: Participatory Art Projects at Art Attack". walkerart.org. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Samachar, Asia (2021-11-03). "Memory Leaks: An anti-memorial art project to remember Sikhs massacred in 1984". Asia Samachar. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Erasing Borders: Passport to Contemporary Indian Art of the diaspora 2009". www.iaac.us. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Erasing Borders: Passport to Contemporary Indian Art of the diaspora 2009". www.iaac.us. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Erasing Borders: Passport to Contemporary Indian Art of the diaspora 2009". www.iaac.us. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Word Of Mouth". womanmade.org. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
https://arthouseonlinegallery.com/art/art-of-rusted-iron/the-masters-tongues-by-pritika-chowdhry/. { {cite web} }: Missing or empty |title= (help)
https://www.amazon.com/Visceral-Mappings-Transdiasporic-Art-Practices/dp/0979734002. { {cite web} }: Missing or empty |title= (help)
"Cultural Memory: Transdiasporic Art Practices | Woman Made Gallery". womanmade.org. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"OUR TEAM". South Asia Institute. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Abbe, Mary. "Forecast awards new public art grants topped at $50,000". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
(PDF) https://www.indiastudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/fellows2011-2012.pdf. { {cite web} }: Missing or empty |title= (help)
- page 2 https://www.indiastudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Dak-21.pdf - page 2. { {cite web} }: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
"Minnesota State Arts Board". www.arts.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Minnesota State Arts Board". www.arts.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
"Past Award Recipients". LIAEP. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- page 1 https://artsboard.wisconsin.gov/Documents/AnnualReports/FY09grantees.pdf - page 1. { {cite web} }: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
"Creative Arts Awards". Division of the Arts. Retrieved 2022-02-02.