Aug 28 2025 to Aug 31 2025 11 a.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Exhibition Opening: 6:00 pm | Thu, Aug 28
Timings: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Exhibition on show until Sun, Aug 31

Walkthroughs:
Thu, Aug 28 | 6 pm
Fri, Aug 29 | 6 pm
Sat, Aug 30 | 6 pm
Sun, Aug 31 | 6 pm

Panel Discussion:
Growing India’s Food: Crisis and Struggle – Sat, Aug 30 | 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Namita Waikar, Priti David, Shankara N Kenchanuru & Shalini Singh | RSVP here

Workshop:
Writing for Social Change – Sun, Aug 31 | 11 am- 12:30 pm
Priti David | Register here

Screening:
Punishing the Professor – Sun, Aug 31 | 4 pm – 5:15 pm
P Senrayaperumal & Aayna | RSVP here

Popular culture and mainstream media paint a picture of average Indians looking a certain way – or in a few stereotypical ways depending on which region they’re from – north or south, east, west, or northeast. But do these stereotypes really capture what an everyday Indian looks like? Is there even such a thing as a singular ‘Indian look’ in a nation of 1.4 billion? Our journey so far suggests there are indeed ‘Indian looks’ – in plural – encompassing an incredible range of diversity.

The FACES initiative of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) comprises the first and only systematic mapping of India’s facial diversity on a nationwide scale. This living, breathing archive documents the world’s most complex countryside, aiming to catalogue not just the vast diversity of Indian faces but also the multitude of occupations and livelihoods people pursue to make a living. By doing so, the FACES endeavour challenges everyday prejudices and stereotypes about what it means to ‘look Indian’.

In collaboration with:

Facilitator

Kanika Gupta
Curator
Kanika Gupta is Special Projects Manager, People’s Archive of Rural India. She oversees the FACES project and the Archive of Adivasi Children’s Art. She also leads and assists the internship programme for PARI Education. Kanika is pursuing a PhD in English Literature from the SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai.