Alka Pande is an Indian academic, author and

museum curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

Background

Alka Pande was born in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

in 1956. She went to Convent of Jesus and Mary School,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

until the 8th and then completed her class 9th to 12th in St. Mary's Convent School,

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

, ICS (1972). Pande did her double MA in History of Art from

Bombay University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

in 1981 and Panjab University in 1983. In 1996, she was Awarded a Phd in Art History from the

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both Punjab, India, State and Government of India, Union governments, it is considered a state university (Indi ...

. Pande's thesis was on the Study of

Ardhanarisvara The Ardhanarishvara ( sa, अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśvara, the half-female Lord, translit-std=IAST), is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati. Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half ...

in Indian Art, with special reference to Indian Sculpture. In 1999, she further did her Post Doctoral Degree from Goldsmiths College,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, under the Aegis of the Charles Wallace Fellowship, through the British Council.

Career

Pande has been a reader at the Department of Fine Arts,

, Chandigarh from 1996 till 2000 and before that she was the Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Panjab University, Chandigarh. 2000–present: She is currently working as Art Consultant at the

India Habitat Centre The India Habitat Centre is a multipurpose building in the city of New Delhi, India. It was the brain child of the HuDCO Chairman, Santosh Sharma. The India Habitat Centre is one of India's most comprehensive convention centers that is aimed at ...

. Pande is also the visiting faculty of DJ Academy of Design,

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

Curated Shows

*In 2015 and 2016: 'Art in the Metro', an ongoing initiative by India Habitat Centre and

Delhi Metro The Delhi Metro is a mass rapid transit (MRT) system serving Delhi and its satellite cities of Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Bahadurgarh and Ballabhgarh, in the National Capital Region of India. The network consists of 10 colour-cod ...

at Jor Bagh and Mandi House Metro Stations in New Delhi *In October 2014, Pande curate
The Kama-Sutra : spirituality and erotism in Indian art
at

Pinacothèque de Paris __NOTOC__ The Pinacothèque de Paris () was an art gallery in Paris, France, with exhibition space for temporary exhibitions of artworks. It was owned and run by Modigliani enthusiast Marc Restellini. It closed in 15 February 2016 after going into ...

. This was alongside

Marc Restellini Marc Restellini (born 24 June 1964) is a French art historian, museum director, founder of the Pinacothèque de Paris, and a specialist on Amedeo Modigliani. Biography Born in 1964 in Saint-Omer, in Pas-de-Calais, his grandfather was the painte ...

, director of the Pinacothèque de Paris. The show was on till 10 January 2015. *In March 2014, Pande was the guest curator for the Sculpture Gallery at the

City Palace, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur is a palace complex situated in the city of Udaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was built over a period of nearly 400 years, with contributions from several rulers of the Mewar dynasty. Its construction began in 15 ...

. The show ‘Diving Gesture - The Magnificence of Mewar Spirituality’ was organised by the

Maharana of Mewar Kingdom of Mewar, sometimes known as Udaipur State, was ruled by the Sisodia dynasty. It was an independent kingdom in Rajputana region of India. It was established around the 7th century as minor rulers of the Nagada-Ahar region of Udaipur an ...

Charitable Foundation (MMCF), Udaipur, in association with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, New Delhi. *In 2011, she co-curated the Delhi Photo Festival, a biennial photography festival organized by India Habitat Centre (IHC) and Nazar Foundation in Delhi *Curator of "India Awakens. Under the Banyan Tree" from November 2010 –February 2011 Essl Museum,

Klosterneuburg Klosterneuburg (; frequently abbreviated as Kloburg by locals) is a town in Tulln District in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It has a population of about 27,500. The Klosterneuburg Monastery, which was established in 1114 and soon after give ...

near

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. This was part of the emerging artists series by bringing in 34 selected artists.

Books

*''Voices and Images'', Penguin Enterprise, November 2015. *''Mukhwas'' Indian Food Through the Ages, Imprint, 2013 *''Shringara'' – the many faces of Indian beauty, Year of publishing: 2011 *''Leela'' – An Erotic Play of Verse and Art, Published by HarperCollins 2009 *''Kama Sutra - The Quest for Love'' Published by Brijbasi Art Press 2008 *''Ardhanarishvara the androgyne'' Published by Rupa & Co., 2005 *''Masterpiece Of Indian Art'' Published by Lustre Press, Roli Books, 2004 *''A Celebration of Love Article : Myriad Moods of Love, by Alka Pande'' - Published by Roli Books, 2004 *''Indian Erotic Art'' - Published by Roli Books, 2002 *''Folk Music & Musical Instruments of Punjab'' Dr. Alka Pande - Published by Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, 2002 *''Indian Erotica'' Alka Pande & Lance Dane - Published by Roli Books, 2002 *''Kama Sutra'' Introduction by Dr. Alka Pande - Published by Roli Books, 1999

Awards

*In 2006, Pande was Awarded the Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres - Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, bequeathed by the French government. *In 2009, Pande received the Australian Asia Council Special Award *In 2015, Pande was awarded the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi honours - in recognition of the distinguished contribution to art - with Amrita Sher-Gil Samman *On 23 March 2015 Alka Pande was awarded L’Oréal Paris Femina Women Awards 2015 under Design and Arts

References

External links

Alka Pande
*https://web.archive.org/web/20150927101745/http://www.thefuschiatree.com/309/fullview *http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chinese-Erotica-Pocket-Alka-Pande/dp/8174362096
Hindustan Times
*http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/623844.Alka_Pande
Launch of
*http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/book-review-of-alka-pande-ardhanarishvara-the-androgyne/1/195010.html *http://www.amazon.in/Kamasutra-The-Quest-For-Love/dp/B0072GQSN8 *https://archive.today/20150118220854/http://www.harpercollins.co.in/Miniwebsite/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=2270&TB_iframe=true&width=570&height=390 *http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111211/spectrum/main1.htm
Cambridge University Press India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pande, Alka 1956 births Living people Indian art curators Writers from Kolkata Panjab University alumni Indian women curators