Avid Learning Conversation @ Amdavad Art - é - Summit

Abhay Mangaldas is the founder and director of The House of MG, a cluster of four heritage properties in Ahmedabad that have been restored by him and now operate as Heritage. Hotels with restaurants, galleries, museum-shops and curated experiences. (www.houseofmg.com). Since the last two and half decades he has been revitalizing tangible and intangible heritage in the city by actively documenting and supporting crafts and cultural activities. He has, in the process, contributed significantly to Ahmedabad’s certification as India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City. His current passion project is designing next gen of building technology. The first proof of concept is the Parametric Metal Tent, Bucky Galley, that started as a display and performance black. box in late 2021. He is also the Managing Trustee of Shreyas Foundation (www.shreyasfoundation.in), a progressive educational institution for children, an advisor to Ahmedabad Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Jt. Secretary, Heritage Tourism Association of Gujarat and Treasurer, Heritage Hotel Association of India. He holds an MSc degree in Mass Communication from Boston University with a Computer Graphics Major. He lives and works in Ahmedabad.

Aparna Andhare is the Deputy Editor, Live History India, looking after programming for LHI Circle. She was, until recently, a curator at the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, the City Palace, Jaipur. Joining the Museum in 2017, she worked on developing a new gallery on transport, contributed to publications, had collection responsibilities, and handled outreach activities including social media. Specialising in art and architecture of early modern India, she has two master's degrees: Art in the Global Middle Ages (University of Edinburgh, 2017), and Arts and Aesthetics (Master's, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 2012). In Bombay, she has worked on independent archiving projects, and taught and co-ordinated the Art Design History and Theory programme for the undergraduates at ISDI-Parson's Mumbai (2013-16). Aparna contributes to various publications on art and culture.

Paul Abraham is an art patron and collector of historical artefacts, modern and contemporary art and living traditions from the Indian subcontinent. He founded Sarmaya in 2015 to foster a love for art and history among the young and the curious. Sarmaya is a modern, digital museum that uses a combination of online engagement and on-ground programming, including workshops, lectures and travels, to reach everyone from children to young adults, and from enthusiasts to connoisseurs. Paul works closely with Indian artists to encourage innovation in indigenous art-forms like Mata-Ni-Pachedi, Tholu Bommalata, Mithila and Bengal Patua. Paul has a Post Graduate Degree in Business Management from IIM Ahmedabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (Hons) from St Stephen’s College Delhi. A banker with over 35 years of experience, Paul is curently President, Hinduja Foundation and on the board of Dakshinachitra Museum ,Sanctuary Asia and the Bombay Natural History Society, Hinduja Hospital, Hinduja College and Hinduja Global Services.

Shivani Sambhare is an arts professional based out of Mumbai. After over a decade in the media creating content for multinational platforms, Shivani brought together her love for art and content creation through her platform The Art Insider. What started off as a platform to create more engagement and accessibility in the art world, is now a wholesome arts practice that focuses on bringing together art collecting and art education. At the centre of this is a full-service art advisory geared specifically towards young collectors to guide them in developing interesting and unique art collections. The advisory works at both ends of the art world-with artists, directly supporting their work, and with individuals, designers and architects to finish spaces with art. Additionally, the Art Insider works with young digital artists and collectors to decode the new NFT art space, having established relationships with internationally renowned NFT artists and galleries who lend interesting perspectives to this new dimension in art.

Trishla Talera is the founder of TIFA Working Studios, a multi-disciplinary platform for Creativity and Culture in India. She has developed a space to support creative, innovative and critical practices through international residencies and mentorship programmes. In the last 5 years, TIFA has grown to be a dynamic contemporary cultural centre in South Asia. She graduated with a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and went on to work as a creative director for Sthayi Design. Trishla Talera has spoken at TransCultural Exchange’s International Conference: Opportunities in the Arts: Expanding Worlds in Boston (2016), Confederation of Indian Industries IWN Conference: Urja | Future Shapes in Pune (2019), Avid Learning and FICCI Conference: Art Orchestrators in Mumbai (2019). She has been awarded the Art Think South Asia (ATSA) fellowship in 2018, the CIMAM Conference: Getty Foundation Grant 2018, Stockholm and was invited to participate in the Culture du monde, programme, Paris hosted by the Ministry of Culture France in 2019.

Asad Lalljee is SVP, Essar Group, CEO of Avid Learning, a public programming initiative and creative platform under the Essar Group, and Curator, Royal Opera House, Mumbai. Asad brings several years of advertising, publishing, marketing, and business development experience, both in international and domestic markets. Prior to relocating to India, Asad worked for 14 years as one of the ‘Mad Men’ advertising executives on New York's Madison Avenue. He was with McCann-Erickson, and earlier with Hill Holiday, a subsidiary of advertising giant IPG. Under Asad’s leadership, Avid Learning has distinguished itself with a wide variety of arts and cultural programming and is currently India’s leading cultural hub. AVID has grown its curatorial practice by leveraging international cultural collaborations through the diplomatic core and partnering with the existing ecosystem by creating opportunities at some of the country’s largest cultural platforms including Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), The Serendipity Arts Festival and The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. In 2022, Asad was co-opted as a member of the Kala Ghoda Association’s Executive Committee. He has been appointed as a member of the advisory board of the Mumbai Urban Art Festival for the year 2022-2023. In 2016, Asad was appointed curator of the newly restored Royal Opera House, Mumbai for which he has successfully designed an avant-garde series of programs. With Asad’s guidance, the Royal Opera House, Mumbai has re-established itself as a performance space of international quality, a cultural venue par excellence, and a prime example of restored and renewed city heritage. In 2018, Asad was inducted into the prestigious FICCI Art and Culture Committee as a distinguished member. FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organization in Indian business with a glorious history of nine decades. Asad has co-convened foray conferences for FICCI’s Smart Cities, Art Cities IP in Mumbai, and Bengaluru. In April 2020, he launched AVID ONLINE as a response to the pandemic and successfully presented 240 programs by March 2021. His curatorial choices demonstrate his passion for technology and new media. After introducing the Mumbai audience to the world of NFTs, Asad took Avid Learning to New York, where he kicked off Engendered, New York’s three-week-long exhibition by moderating a panel discussion on ‘State of the Contemporary: NFTs and the Global South.’ It was followed by moderating the opening session of Jaipur Literature Festival’s, New York edition: ‘Digital Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and the Cyber Future.’ Asad’s creative strategy has led to AVID developing a robust social media presence transforming it into an integral channel for learning Asad holds a B.A. in Economics from St. Xavier's College (Mumbai) and an M.A. in Global Marketing Communications from Emerson College (Boston).

Karan Talwar is a filmmaker, arts enabler and founder at Harkat Studios; an interdisciplinary arts studio, film lab and alternative performance space based in Mumbai. His work involves working with his hands, making films, installations and devising new ways of seeing.

Priyanshi Saxena helms the art advisory PSArts, building and managing art collections, and consulting on the South Asian Art Market. She is the director of IAM, working at reviving, restructuring and connecting the regional art market, especially in regional. languages in India. She was one of the reviewers for the 2022 Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowship applications in the field of Arts and Culture Management; and a jury for the ArtBuzz Notable Artist Award 2022. She is the Curatorial Director for the Amdavad Art - é - Summit 2022; and consulting with galleries like Pulp Society, Delhi. She is one of the founders of, and part of the core team of abr (on instagram @abr_circle ), a community and digital platform for performance art in South Asia; and an advisor to Flint Create, the business building and strategic advising arm of the cultural communication agency- Flint Culture. She has worked with contemporary and modern South Asian art galleries (on institutional acquisitions, and international art fairs); and an art foundation, curating exhibitions in Delhi; and among others, a collateral project at the 56th Venice Biennale. She has also written extensively on contemporary art and art markets; contributing as a writer to two books: Art Residencies of India (Studio 118, Mumbai, 2022), and SMART ARTIST (Artbuzz India, 2019); and articles with GQ India, AD India, Vogue India, Take on Art, among others. Prior to working in the Art Market, she worked with JWT, MTV India, and the newspaper DNA