Sarat Maharaj (born 1951 in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

) is a writer, researcher, curator, and professor. Maharaj's family was part of the large group of Indians who migrated to the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the nineteenth century. The grandfather of Maharaj worked in sugar plantations as a contract worker. As a child, Maharaj witnessed the effects of racial segregation under the

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

regime. During his university studies, Maharaj had to travel by ferry to the University College for Indians, located on Salisbury Island off the coast of Durban. These experiences made him sensitive to the violence that was inherently present in classification systems. Maharaj eventually left South Africa for Britain. In 1980, he began his doctorate at Goldsmiths. His thesis was ''The Dialectic of Modernism and Mass Culture: Studies in Post War British Art''. He is an authority on the work of Richard Hamilton,

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

, and

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

. He is a Professor of Visual Arts and Knowledge Systems at the

Malmö Art Academy Malmö Art Academy is an art school as part of Lund University in Lund, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of Swe ...

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

and was Professor of Art and Art Theory at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the ...

, London from 1980 to 2005. Maharaj has held visiting professorships and fellowships at several institutions including Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht and

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

, Berlin. His writings, curatorial projects, and presentations have appeared all over the world. Maharaj is also a member of the advisory board of the journal '' Third Text''. Curatorial projects include: * co-curator, ''There is always a cup of tea to sail in'': 29th São Paulo Biennale (2010) * ''Farewell to Postcolonialism'', Towards a Post-Western Modernity, Guangzhou Triennial, Guwangzhou, (2008) * Knowledge Lab,

Haus der Kulturen der Welt The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of the World's Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and so ...

, Berlin, (2005) * co-curator,

documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural ...

11, Kassel, (2002) * co-curator (with Richard Hamilton and Ecke Bonk), ''retinal.optical. visual.conceptual . . .'', Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 2002 Maharaj lives and works in London and Lund.

Bibliography

Selected books

* ''Annotations: Modernity and Difference No. 6'' (Art Catalogue) by Stuart Hall and Sarat Maharaj (15 Jun 2001) * ''Printed Project 11: Farewell to Post-Colonialism'' (1 Jun 2009) * ''Port City: On Mobility and Exchange'' by

Ursula Biemann Ursula Biemann (born 8 September 1955) is a Swiss video artist, curator, educator, and art theorist.Yvonne Volkart (2010, 2016). Biography Born on 8 September 1955 in Küsnacht. Biemann trained in art in Boston, Mexico and New York, graduating ...

, Paul Domela,

Paul Gilroy Paul Gilroy (born 16 February 1956) is an English sociologist and cultural studies scholar who is the founding Director of the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Race and Racism at University College, London (UCL). Gilroy is the 2019 ...

and Sarat Maharaj (1 Oct 2007) * ''

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. ...

'' by

Robert Rosenblum Robert Rosenblum (July 24, 1927 – December 6, 2006) was an American art historian and curator known for his influential and often irreverent scholarship on European and American art of the mid-eighteenth to 20th centuries. Biography Rosenblum wa ...

and Sarat Maharaj (Feb 1993) * '' Richard Hamilton: XLV Biennale di Venezia, British Pavilion'', 13 June-10 October 1993 by Richard Hamilton and Sarat Maharaj (Jun 1993)

Selected articles

* Subject: Art and immigration in Britain. * Ahamkara. Sarat Maharaj in conversation with

Francisco Varela Francisco Javier Varela García (September 7, 1946 – May 28, 2001) was a Chilean biologist, philosopher, cybernetician, and neuroscientist who, together with his mentor Humberto Maturana, is best known for introducing the concept of autopoiesi ...

. in: ''Intellectual Birdhouse'', edited by Dombois, Bauer, Mareis, Schwab. London: Koenig Books, pp. 65–86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Sarat British non-fiction writers British Asian writers 1951 births Living people Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London South African non-fiction writers British curators British people of Indian descent British male writers Male non-fiction writers