Talks | Lectures | Interviews

Across museums, cultural organizations, universities, colleges, schools, corporate institutions and various other forums around the world.

U.S.A, Europe, Central and South Asia, South Africa, India.

International Sculpture Conference: Manav Gupta

Annual Gathering of the International Sculpture Centre | New Jersey, USA | October 10th - 15th, 2023

“Manav Gupta, one of India’s foremost contemporary artists, is known for installations, paintings, sculptures and large-scale public art projects. He has conceptualized art for sustainable living for three decades pioneering interdisciplinary collaborations and engagement practices, involving diverse stakeholders.

 

Among his highly acclaimed monumental projects are Tree of Life (2010); Shrinking River at National Museum Pretoria, South Africa (2013); Ganga Waterfront, at IHC New Delhi (2015); Ganga to Mississippi outreach (2015-16), Excavated Museum in a Mall (2017); Sculpture Garden at Amrita Shergill Marg (2017-2018), Arth–Art for Earth, punctuating 27 acres at IGNCA, hosted by the Government of India (2018). Water the New Gold – ‘City in a City’ in Bhubaneswar (2019). Most of these featured multiple installations, including the seminal Rain, Rainforest and Beehive Garden. Quoting Sculpture magazine : “Gupta’s art affirms the age-old sanctity of earth and clay, assembling everyday objects made by potters from across India to create huge installations that convey hope, passion, and the journey and transience of life. He creates contemporary yet timeless and powerful stories…while transforming the familiar into something completely unconventional, unexpected, and magical.”

 

Gupta’s works have been sold by Christie’s, Bonham’s, Philip de Pury and are in several private and public collections.”

President's Lecture Series: Manav Gupta

The President’s Lecture, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minnesota, USA | November 12th, 2015

“He’s been called the “maverick genius” by his critics. According to insiders, Manav Gupta is piped to be the next big thing in international art.

One of India’s most erudite and versatile contemporary artists, Manav Gupta has reinvented the language of clay by infusing true originality of thought and treatment in the humble produce of the potters wheel. With works sold by Christie’s, Bonham’s, Philip de Pury and in several private, corporate, and public collections, he is widely exhibited around the globe.

Recently Manav executed perhaps the two biggest solo commissioned artworks originating from India in the past few years: a world-record, five-floor, ten-thousand-square-foot mega mural at the corporate giant Airtel’s headquarters during which he invited thousands of employees to come and experience painting with him; and an Indo-Bhutan friendship mural of twenty-foot-high canvases in Bhutan.

His passion for public art is long standing—a striving of the thought and belief that embraces and explores the juxtaposition and dichotomy of the universality with the exclusively isolated, the iconic and iconoclastic.”

TEDx Talks: Creating Art for Earth | Manav Gupta

Creating Art for Earth | Manav Gupta | TEDxYouth@TheShriramMillenniumNoida | November 7th, 2018

Manav Gupta, an eminent artist and founder of ‘Arth: Art for Earth’, talks about taking art beyond art and deploying it to raise conscious environment. One of India’s top ten eminent contemporary artists, he is a visionary and a thinker who has taken art beyond art and has created a movement over his two decades of career by deploying art to raise conscious environment. A Former Expert Committee Member of the Republic Day celebrations and the first artist-in-residence at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, he is the only artist to be invited by Environment Ministry to create films on climate change and has been acknowledged as a pioneer for reinventing pottery as global Public Art for Sustainable Development, taking local to global and craft to Avant grade art. With three global travelling trilogies, his work has been sold by Christie’s, Bonham’s, and in several private and public collections. His biggest solo commissioned artworks include a ten thousand sq. ft. five-floor mega mural at Airtel and the Indo-Bhutan friendship mural in Bhutan. His work has gained recognition in the books of records and amongst the international media. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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Doordarshan: Aaj Savere - An interview with Manav Gupta, Eminent Artist and Thinker

Doordarshan National: Aaj Savere - An interview with -Manav Gupta, Eminent Artist and Thinker | March 14th, 2018

San Jose State University | Lecture, San Jose, USA | 2010

Forecast Public Art | Lecture, Minnesota, USA | November 11th, 2015

Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Berlin, Germany | October 7th, 2010

Department of Visual Arts, Pretoria University, South Africa | 27th February, 2013

Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, India | June 30th, 2016

UNISA, Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology, Pretoria, South Africa | March 8th, 2013

SABC News: An exhibition by New Dehli based contemporary Artist Manav Gupta at the Cultural Museum | March 26th, 2013

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HORASIS, Promoting India’s Artistic Inspiration beyond COVID, Horasis India Meeting, Co Powered by CII, (Online), India | July 24th, 2021

ExpressoPartners: Manav Gupta at the National Museum of Cultural History | Pretoria March 5th, 2013

Namami Gange: Manav Gupta - Ganga Utsav | NamamiGange 2020

WEF, New Delhi, India | September 13th, 2017

Annual Guest Lecture, LPU University, Punjab, India | November 19th, 2018

Design Ponderings, GSSS School of Architecture , Karnataka | June 24, 2021

TEDx Lingala University - Desire and Destiny: Manav Gupta | October 19, 2012

Brahma Kumari Centre, New Delhi, India | Talk: Manav Gupta | March 7th, 2018

Navodaya Times | World's first ever travelling Museum for Contemporary Public Art | Manav Gupta | October 27th, 2018

Doordarshan | Guftgoo | Manav Gupta | 17 September, 2019

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Punjab Kesari TV | World's first ever travelling Museum for Contemporary Public Art | Manav Gupta | October 27th, 2018

IGNCA, Ministry of Culture | arth - art for earth | Call to Action, Artist's Outreach programme with School Children at his public art project | 2018

Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa | unsung hymns of clay | Lectures, talks, dialogues, artist led curatorial walks with schools | February - March, 2013

Des Moines Social Club, USA | Lecture Talks, Films, Travelling Trilogy - Second Edition "Rainforest and the Timeless Metaphors of Dreams" | 2010

ICCR | Travelling Trilogy - Second Edition "Rainforest and the Timeless Metaphors of Dreams" Curtain Raiser | 2009

Nehru Centre, London, United Kingdom | September 28th, 2010

Bank of India, New York, 2010

India Ahead News | Artist Manav Gupta on Covid Lessson through Art | 2021

Airtel | The Tree of Life | Bharti Airtel, Airtel Centre, Gurgaon, India | 2010

Dubai, UAE | Private Vernissage, Palm Jumeirah | 2022

Apeejay School, (Online) India | November 7th, 2020

Khaitan Public School, India | 2023

Gyanshree School, India | April 17th, 2018

The Park Hotel, New Delhi | "Plant a sapling on my canvas" with school children and different stakeholders of society | 2003

Lali Kala Academy | DPS R K Purum amongst other Schools | 2005

India Habitat Centre | School Students | 2009

India Habitat Centre | Dialogues at the Waterfront | Rain, the Ganga Waterfront along Time Machine | 2015

DLF Mall of India | Dialogues at the Waterfront | Excavated Museum in a Mall - The Yamuna Project | 2017

IGNCA, Ministry of Culture | Dialogues at the Waterfront | arth - art for earth by Manav Gupta | 2018

Maruti Udyog Talk, 2004

Bank Muscat | Talk by Manav Gupta | Travelling Trilogy - Edition 1 | Muscat, Oman, 2007

Rashtrapati Bhavan | Exhibition - Manav Gupta, Lectures, Talks, artist-led Curatorial Walks with numerous Schools and Children | 2005

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'arth - art for earth' by Manav Gupta

Times of India Interview

‘Arth – art for earth’ is Indian contemporary artist Manav Gupta’s brainchild of 20 years and it explores the meaning of life. ‘Arth’ means ‘wealth’ and ‘meaning’ in the Devanagri script. Through ‘Arth’, a travelling museum which is scheduled to travel across 29 mega cities across the world, the artist explores the earth and nature and urges us to ‘stop a while’ and think about living a life of environmental consciousness. Arth’s exhibitions in clay started in Pretoria, South Africa in 2013 where it was hosted by the National Museum and Indian High Commission. Since then, owing to the exhibition’s success, it has been showcased at various other locations including Aerocity, New Delhi in 2014; India Habitat Centre, New Delhi in 2015; Old Fort, Delhi in 2016; DLF Mall of India, Noida as the Yamuna Project in 2017 followed by a prototype of his Permanent Museum at Amrita Shergill Marg, New Delhi. The 2018 edition was launched on World Environment Day, hosted by IGNCA, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The artist’s signature suite of ‘excavations in hymns of clay’ is set-up in the 23 acres of IGNCA lawns. The exhibits are made of clay and pottery in different forms imitating nature and are created as ‘excavations’ from ideas of sustainable development. The art installations include ‘The Bed of Life’, ‘The River’, ‘The Beehives Garden’, ‘Rain’, ‘Time Machine, and ‘Noah’s Ark’ and they are made different forms of pottery– earthen lamps (“diyas”), local cigar (“chilam”), earthen cups (“kullar”)– transforming them into monumental art installations which are environment friendly and also supports local artists. What’s more, the travelling museum’s River Waterfront also transforms into a platform for people from different walks of life in the leading megacities to come together and discuss important environmental issues and the need for sustainable development through art poetry and cultural performances. And if we don’t address these problems now, we all will have to be the ‘Noah’s Ark’. The exhibition is currently on-going at IGNCA, New Delhi till October 22, 2018.

Call to Action, Artist's Outreach programme with children, school students and educational institutions at his public art projects

arth
art for earth
by
manav gupta

Bibliographic Index: Select Lectures, Talks & Interviews

Artist-led curatorial walk, Birla Academy of Arts and Culture, Kolkata, 1996
 ‘Freedom to be Different’, Artist-led curatorial walk, Taj Bengal, Kolkata, 1997
 ‘India Awaiting – Timeless Metaphors of Dreams’, Artist-led curatorial walk, Taj Palace, New Delhi, 1999
Office of the Joint Secretary, HRD Ministry, Govt of India, 2000
‘Plant a Sapling on my Canvas’ Outreach Programme, Leela Palace, Bangalore, 2002 
‘Plant a Sapling on my Canvas’ Outreach Programme, Park Hotel, New Delhi, 2003
‘Mass Teacher’ School Students invited to India Habitat Centre, Workshop, 2004
Maruti Udyog Talk, Workshop, 2004
Rashtrapati Bhavan | Exhibition – Manav Gupta, artist-led Curatorial Walks with numerous Schools and Children, 2005
Bank Muscat, Muscat, Oman | August 12th, 2007

“Workshop on Public Engagement: Green Entrepreneurship” The San Jose State University, San Jose, California, USA | September 15th, 2010

Bank of India, New York, USA | 2010

Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Berlin, Germany | October 7th, 2010
Nehru Centre, London, United Kingdom | September 28th, 2010

TEDx Lingaya University, New Delhi, India | October 31st 2011
University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa | February 27th, 2013

UNISA, Pretoria, South Africa | March 8th, 2013

National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa | February 21st, 2013
Lovell Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa | June 22nd, 2013
The President’s Lecture, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minnesota, USA | November 12th, 2015
Forecast Public Lecture, Minnesota, USA | November 11th, 2015

Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, India | June 30th, 2016

WEF, New Delhi, India | September 13th, 2017

IGNCA, Ministry of Culture, Govt of India, India | 2017

Interview: Arth Art for Earth by Manav Gupta, Times of India | September 24th, 2018

Interview: An interview with an eminent artist and thinker, Manav Gupta, Doordarshan, India | March 14th, 2018

Interview: World’s first ever travelling Museum for Contemporary Public Art, Punjab Kesari, India | October 17th, 2018

IGNCA, Ministry of Culture, Govt of India, India | July 5th, 2018
Brahma Kumari Centre, New Delhi, India | March 7th, 2018
Gyanshree School | April 17th, 2018

TEDx The Shriram Millennium School Noida, UP, India | November 7th, 2018

Annual Guest Lecture, LPU University, Punjab, India | November 19th, 2018

Interview: Guftagoo, Doordarshan, India | September 17th, 2019
 Interview: Artist Manav Gupta reflects on Covid-19 through his art, India Ahead | May 30th, 2020
Apeejay School, (Online) India | November 7th, 2020
HORASIS, India, Promoting India’s Artistic Inspiration beyond COVID, Horasis India Meeting, Co Powered by CII, (Online), India | July 24th, 2021
Vernissage, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | April 14th, 2022
Annual Gathering of the International Sculpture Centre | New Jersey, USA | October 10th – 15th, 2023