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Department of Visual Arts

The Department of Visual Arts at Ashoka University combines courses in Art History and Visual Culture with training in material, media and site specific aspects of Studio Arts. While the Art History and Visual Culture courses offer historical and philosophical contexts in which visual arts has been developed and practiced, the Studio Arts courses help the students learn the fundamentals of an art form and develop it through practice. Both the components work in tandem and help the student acquire an integrated understanding of art.

Programmes

Faculty at Visual Arts

The Department of Visual Arts’s faculty includes visual art practitioners, working through varied media and methods, as well as art historians and visual studies scholars with research interests and expertise spanning the early medieval to the contemporary period.

Facilities

Art Studio

The Department of Visual Arts offers Minor courses in Art histories and Art practice at an undergraduate level. The art studios at the department provide facilities for some of the foundational courses in Visual Arts. Students have the possibilities to experiment in Drawing and explore the various experimental possibilities in the studio. The studio also houses facilities to experiment in oil and easel painting. There are provisions for clay modelling, clay and plaster sculpture making, terracotta pottery and firing. The studio houses electric wheels and electricity kiln for students to learn terracotta sculpture and pottery making. There are provisions to experiment in print techniques with a lino and etching press provided in the studio. Plans are underway to expand the studio facilities in the near future.

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Dear All,

The Department of Visual Arts is delighted to invite you to the second colloquium in the Visual Arts Colloquium Series, Monsoon 2025.

Title: The Art Side of Ambedkarism: Visual Resistance, Memory, and Imagination

Speaker: Siddhesh Gautam (@bakeryprasad)

Date: September 23rd, @1.30 pm

Venue: Visual Arts Studio (near sports block)

Abstract: This talk reflects on how Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s thought and vision inspire an ongoing visual vocabulary of resistance. I will explore how Ambedkarism has shaped not only the politics of social justice but also an aesthetic language of equality, dignity, and collective imagination. Through my practice of illustration, graphic storytelling, and public art, I will discuss how images can work as archives of people’s struggles, as acts of pedagogy, and as tools to dismantle caste hierarchies in everyday life. The session will also highlight how the anti-caste movement's legacy continues to guide creative practices that are not limited to elitist spaces, but rooted in the communities that live and sustain his vision.

Bio: Siddhesh Gautam (he/them) is a Delhi-based mixed-media artist, storyteller, and writer. His work explores caste, history, identity, and resistance, drawing on visual archives and personal memory to challenge dominant narratives. Through illustrations, poetry, and storytelling, he documents the struggles and dreams of marginalized communities. His practice seeks to return art to the people, grounding it in everyday lives rather than elitist spaces.

Join us for an engaging conversation over tea to discover how Ambedkar’s vision lives on in art, imagination, and everyday struggles.

 

Warm regards,

Visual Arts Department

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Dear All,

The Department of Visual Arts is delighted to invite you to the second colloquium in the Visual Arts Colloquium Series, Monsoon 2025.

Title: The Art Side of Ambedkarism: Visual Resistance, Memory, and Imagination

Speaker: Siddhesh Gautam (@bakeryprasad)

Date: September 23rd, @1.30 pm

Venue: Visual Arts Studio (near sports block)

Abstract: This talk reflects on how Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s thought and vision inspire an ongoing visual vocabulary of resistance. I will explore how Ambedkarism has shaped not only the politics of social justice but also an aesthetic language of equality, dignity, and collective imagination. Through my practice of illustration, graphic storytelling, and public art, I will discuss how images can work as archives of people’s struggles, as acts of pedagogy, and as tools to dismantle caste hierarchies in everyday life. The session will also highlight how the anti-caste movement's legacy continues to guide creative practices that are not limited to elitist spaces, but rooted in the communities that live and sustain his vision.

Bio: Siddhesh Gautam (he/them) is a Delhi-based mixed-media artist, storyteller, and writer. His work explores caste, history, identity, and resistance, drawing on visual archives and personal memory to challenge dominant narratives. Through illustrations, poetry, and storytelling, he documents the struggles and dreams of marginalized communities. His practice seeks to return art to the people, grounding it in everyday lives rather than elitist spaces.

Join us for an engaging conversation over tea to discover how Ambedkar’s vision lives on in art, imagination, and everyday struggles.

 

Warm regards,

Visual Arts Department

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News

Events

News

Contact Us

For any queries regarding Visual Arts programmes, please contact: -

Rakhi Peswani

Head of Department

rakhi.peswani@ashoka.edu.in

Uttkarsha

Department Manager

uttkarsha@ashoka.edu.in

Mihika Kulkarni

Visual Arts Student Representative, Academic Year 2025-2026

studentrepresentative.visualarts@ashoka.edu.in

Nylaa Ahmed

Visual Arts Student Representative, Academic Year 2025-2026

studentrepresentative.visualarts@ashoka.edu.in

Anuj Kumar Yadav

Visual Arts Studio Manager

anuj.yadav@ashoka.edu.in

Study at Ashoka

Study at Ashoka

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