Jun 24 2026 to Jun 26 2026 7 p.m.

Book/Buy

Where

Museum of Art & Photography (MAP)

Kasturba Road, Bengaluru 560001

Event Description

What might taste, touch, scent, sound, and emotion reveal about the history of art?

Bringing together artists, critics, historians, and practitioners, this three-part series explores how sensory approaches can expand our understanding of South Asia’s art and cultural histories — through subjects ranging from court paintings and garden cultures to kitchens, workshops, and cities.

Presented in collaboration with IMPART, this series is held in conjunction with the exhibition Paper Gardens: Art, Botany and Empire, on view at MAP until 5 July 2026.

Scroll down to view the schedule, learn more about the speakers.

[DIALOGUE 1]

Ways of Feelings — An Introduction to Sensory History
24 June | Wednesday | 7 PM (IST)

Dr Fatima Quraishi, Dr Preeti Bahadur Ramaswami, Vinit Vyas

Drawing on court miniatures from the Himalayas to the Deccan, this session provides a general introduction to sensory approaches in art history. It considers what these works reveal about people, places, cultures, and lived experiences across time; what it means to feel an image rather than merely see it; and how such an approach might open up new ways of imagining the past.

[DIALOGUE 2]

Sensoria Indica — On Scents, Sounds and Gardens
25 June | Thursday | 7 PM (IST)

Bharti Lalwani, Indu Antony, Dr Murad Khan Mumtaz, Dr Nicolas Roth

Moving through fragrance and botany, music and materiality, scents and the city, this discussion looks closely at how non-visual senses were woven into early modern Hindustani paintings and how they continue to influence contemporary art techniques.

[DIALOGUE 3]

Making Sense — On Tastes, Touch and Labour
26 June | Friday | 7:00 PM IST

Dr Arun Kumar, Mallory Cerkleski, Dr Neha Vermani

Examining early-modern Mughal kitchens, colonial artisanal workshops in north India, and toddy shops in contemporary Kerala, this conversation foregrounds the labour behind these practices. Drawing on a wide range of archival, visual, and oral sources, it studies the politics of touch, taste, and taste-making in the South Asian context.