In this issue

The central theme of the forthcoming issue, guest-edited by cultural theorist and curator Nancy Adajania, and edited by Bhavna Kakar, is the Sacred. It deals with a complex question that people fear to address: In a society where the intelligentsia are wary of religious experience, while political forces instrumentalise religion through the politics of identity, is it possible to discuss the sacred as a source of regeneration? TAKE/ Sacred will reflect critically on the resources of the sacred and the varied interpretations it has received from artists, architects, sociologists, poets, historians, theorists and other actors in the cultural domain; the focus will be on the visual arts and their relationship to other cultural articulations.

TAKE/ Sacred includes a number of special contributions by eminent Art critics, Theorists, Poets, Architects, anthropologists and artists exploring this tendentious theme like Nikos Papastergiadis, Hammad Nassar, Ala Younis, Nancy Adajania, Nilima Sheikh, Anita Dube, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Ram Rahman, Baiju Parthan, Agung Hujatnikajennong, Vivek Menezes, Lina Vincent Sunish, Valsan Koorma Kolleri, Deepika Sorabjee, Neha Choksi, Smita and Mustansir Dalvi, Gieve Patel, Ranjit Hoskote, Rudi Heredia, Kaiwan Mehta, Wael Shawky, Valsan Koorma

Also, we have our book and exhibition reviews and regular columns by Nivedita Magar, Himali Singh Soin, Rosalyn D'mello, Anushka Rajendran, Sujata Assomul Sippy, Georgina Maddox, Manisha Gera Baswani, Pushpamala N, Bhavna Kakar and Hemant Sareen.

TAKE on art Magazine Description:

TAKE on art, the leading art magazine in India published bi-annually from New Delhi since 2009, comprehensively covers, reports and critiques art and cultural events from India and abroad. Led by Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Bhavna Kakar, TAKE follows a critical approach to the larger discourse on art through curated issues with contributions by leading writers and critics from across the globe. The magazine has been invested in sustaining critical writing practices in India not just through its own capacity as a publication but also by organising initiatives that try to generate discourse, and keep conversations alive. In the past, the publication has organised writing workshops under the TAKE on Writing series as well as hosted the TAKE TALK series. Significant projects in this direction include TAKE on Residency, in collaboration with IFA at 1 Shanthi Road, Bangalore in 2013, TAKE on Writing, Critic-Community: Contemporary Art Writing at Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts, Goa in 2014 and more recently, Take on Writing - Critical Writing Ensemble (CWE) Baroda Chapter at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda in December 2015 and the CWE Dhaka Chapter, conceptualised by Katya Garcia Anton, in collaboration with OCA, Norway at the Dhaka Art Summit in 2016 supported by Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council. The most recent TAKE on Writing initiatives included The Book – The New Writing Group, a workshop led by Chus Martínez and Ingo Niermann supported by Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council and The Book – Ensemble, both held in New Delhi in December 2016.

The magazine has travelled internationally to events such as Art Basel, Art Basel HK, Art Basel Miami, Dhaka Art Summit and Asia Triennale Manchester, as well as collaborated with landmark events locally such as Experimenter Curator's Hub (2011 - 2016), Insert 2014, Sarai Reader 09: Episode 1, 2 and 3, Amrita Sher-Gil National Art Week and Delhi Photo Festival.