Many Visions, Many Versions: Art from Indigenous Communities in India

This fall, WAM proudly presents Many Visions, Many Versions: Art from Indigenous Communities in India, a comprehensive exhibition showcasing non-mainstream Indian art.

Many Visions, Many Versions focuses on work by contemporary artists from four major indigenous artistic traditions in India: the Gond and Warli tribal communities of central India, the Mithila region of Bihar, and West Bengal. The exhibition is divided into four broad thematic categories: Myth and Cosmology, Nature Real and Imagined, Village Life, and Contemporary Explorations. These sections explore the breadth and variety of cultural traditions in India, revealing a dynamic visual that remains deeply rooted in traditional culture, yet vitally responsive to current global issues. Rather than exhibiting these four distinct indigenous artistic traditions by tribal and cultural affinities, the curators intentionally display the paintings thematically. This panoramic sampling highlights the shared cultural features and contemporary concerns of these communities and underlies the diversity of the artists’ unique expressive forms, techniques, and styles.

India’s rise as an Asian power on the global scene has focused the world’s attention on the country. For Americans of all ages eager to know more about Indian art, Many Visions, Many Versions offers an opportunity to learn about life and culture in India through these remarkable artworks.

With the presentation of Many Visions, Many Versions, WAM hopes to illuminate the complex and ancient culture of India. Offering a slate of public programs that delve further into aspects of Indian socio-political issues, histories, and life ways, WAM hopes to inspire new connections to and conversations about the traditions and expressions of a land that is at once a world away and a strong part of the Minnesota community. WAM opens the exhibition on the weekend of Indigenous Peoples Day.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website