News Archives

6/07/19

Nitin Bathla & Sumedha Garg awarded a grant for their ​

Socially engaged art project 'Apna Khet in Kapashera' by

KHOJ Foundation

The year long art project would seek interventions in Kapashera (cotton village) located in Delhi's green belt which today accommodates labour migrants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The project will attempt to bridge distances: between migrants and inhabitants, between former agricultarlists and land, between human and ecology, and between work and enjoyment. Further information regarding the project can be found here - https://khojworkshop.org/programme/socially-engaged-art-projects/

31/06/19 - 3/07/19

INURA Zagreb

I had a chance to attend the annual conference of International Network for Urban Research and Action (INURA) in Zagreb this year. The conference brings together researchers, activists, and academics working on urban social movements, right to the city and right to housing in a week long conversation with each others work and around the city where the conference takes place. I had the chance to learn about financialisation and expropriation of Zagreb's socialist era planning and architecture, learn about local workers movements, and history of Yougslavian communism and housing experiments.

14/06/2019

BRICS Land Transformation Conference, Oxford International Development Institute​

I had a chance to present a paper on my research on urbanisation of ecological commons in the Delhi urban region at the day-long workshop in Oxford. The conference brought together very important scholars such as Patrick Bond who are working on land transformations in the BRICS countries.​

29/06/16 - 6/07/16

Carpentary Workshop at Savda Ghevra

Our first batch of trained carpenters graduated with flying colors. I am now mentoring them to start their own workshops and with the generous help of CURE provide them with loans to take up these livelihood activities. I am also trying to expand this program to a middle scale operation which would empower the trained carpenters with a business model.

07/07/16

Presenting Social Design at Anti-Social

I was honored by the invitation to present with Swati Janu from the MHS city collective and Ashwini from Basic Shit on design as a tool for social empowerement. I presented my recent work in Savda Ghevra on starting a livelihoods program with a marginalised and relocated community on the Western fringes of Delhi and some of my previous Social Design endeavors like the Sanjay Colony reading room.

​13/07/2016 - 25/07/16

In Zurich and Venice for UA Conference

I was delighted to attend this year's Urban Age Conference, which was aptly titled - 'Shaping Cities' and also the Biennale which focused on humble and simple solutions to address the ecological challenges that our planet is facing. I will be publishing two blogs soon, to summarise my thoughts on the conference and the biennale.

In Zurich I also attended 'Manifesta - What people do for living' a very soul touching exposition dissecting ordinary lives of people trying to make a living.