The title of this talk borrows its adjective from Italo Calvino “Invisible Cities”. It aims to trigger a process of revealing unspoken, unseen landscapes through the stories of the speakers. Literature and Visual Art are languages capable of bringing to life the invisible texture of words and images. They do it without defining but rather evoking what makes the very essence of an urban identity, its complexity and its flavour.
The roundtable talk will be participated by Andrea Anastasio and Sharmistha Mohanty in conversation with Kaiwan Mehta.
Andrea Anastasio has a Masters in Indology from the University of Venice Cá Foscari. Since then he further developed his studies on Indian Art and Architecture. Since the 80s, he has travelled throughout the sub-continent, collaborating with Indian artists and architects like Rahul Mehrotra,Dayanita Singh, and Gond Artist Bajju Shiam. Through his work he has highlighted the importance of crossdisciplinary approaches. He regularly holds workshops around the world on traditional craftsmanship and innovation.
Sharmistha Mohanty is the author of three works of prose. Her most recent work is “Extinctions”. Mohanty is also the founder-editor of the online literature journal “Almost Island”. She was invited to be on the International Faculty for the Creative Writing MFA at the City University of Hong Kong, where she taught from 2010-16. Mohanty has held international fellowships and residencies and has also been a recipient of a Senior Fellowship from the Indian Ministry of Culture. She was a participant at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Kaiwan Mehta has studied Architecture, Literature and Cultural Studies. He has been the Managing Editor of Domus India and has authored many architect’s biographies and books like “Alice in Bhuleshwar: Navigating a Mumbai Neighbourhood”. He has been curator of the Literature and Urban Design and Architecture sections of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai.He continues to set up varied spaces for paraacademic engagement and learning. He has been recently appointed as Dean of the Balwant Sheth School of Architecture, NMIMS