LVAC is a platform initiated by Art Historian and Curator Lina Vincent.
Functioning primarily at the intersection of arts education, curation and research practices, LVAC has been experimenting with newer modes of creative production, documentation and dissemination.
Responding to a constantly evolving cultural ecosystem, LVAC is committed to creating more sustainable and democratic networks within the arts by positioning itself as a mediator between creators and audiences, between urban and rural communities, and between diverse streams of practice.
The Consultancy offers a wide range of general and customised services related to various arts sectors. This includes curation, writing and exhibition design for individuals, collectives and organisations; integrated arts curriculum development, instructor-training and implementation; portfolio development and mentorship; along with advisory for cultural project management and collections. The core philosophy of LVAC is interdisciplinarity, with a strong belief in empowering voices and creating opportunities for all. With innovative approaches that thrive on collaboration and knowledge sharing, the platform reflects two decades of domain experience that Vincent has gained, as well as the contributions of those she has worked with, and others she continues to learn from.
TEAM
Lina Vincent
Founder, Director
Lina Vincent is an independent art historian and curator with two decades experience in arts management. Since 2009, Lina has worked on multi-layered projects that highlighted plural approaches, with a focus on inclusivity and collaboration in public arts engagement. It has resulted in interconnected bodies of research and curation, that bring together diverse voices, modes of expression, and interfaces for dialogue. The focus areas of her research extend to projects with arts education, printmaking history and practice, the documentation of living traditions and folk arts in India, and environmental consciousness in the arts. She sees herself as a mediator and culture worker, connecting dots, ideas and people. In 2020, she registered LVAC as a means to engage formally with a broader sphere of organisations and collaborators.
Her ongoing engagements include ‘Goa Familia’, archival photography project with Serendipity Arts Foundation and ‘Sunaparanta Art Initiator Lab’, Goa (S.A.I.L) mentoring project. She led the development of ‘Sandooka – The Living Museum of Kodava Culture,’ a virtual project commissioned by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) with whom she concluded an Archival Museum Fellowship for Goa Chitra Museum (2018-19). She is Associate Curator with ARTPORT_making waves – global arts program for climate-action. She is associated as Visiting Faculty at the School of Design and Innovation, RV University, Bangalore and Visiting Professor at the Trans-Disciplinary University (TDU) Bangalore. She has curated numerous exhibitions with galleries across India and contributes to publications on art history and contemporary cultural practices. Lina has a BFA in printmaking from Bangalore University and MFA in Art History from the same institution.
Christina Dedhia has a few years of professional experience in an array of industries and works as a curatorial and research assistant. Among her responsibilities at LVAC, they include research assistance and display setup. In addition, she is proficient as a graphic designer and has dabbled with social media content creation in the past. Apart from working with contemporary art and artists, digital and physical, she trains and practices as an Art Conservator based out of Goa.
Her experience in history, archaeology, conservation, and museum studies allows her to make connections between the past and present. In addition to authoring articles for blogs and websites, she actively pursues her own scholarly research and presents papers at national and international conferences. She is fond of traveling and her passion for culture and history inspires her to pursue a variety of hobbies while expanding her skill set.
Christina Dedhia
Curatorial and Research Assistant
Creative Resource Partners
Samyuktha Rao is an art practitioner and art educator with over 15 years’ experience in teaching, curriculum design, project management and art direction. She has developed art programs that cater to diverse age groups and skill levels, within and outside of academic institutions. Her curriculums seamlessly integrate traditional techniques with contemporary art practices and technology. She has worked with Companies like SublimeArted and TataClassedge in developing the curriculum, producing video resources and teacher training modules in collaboration with LVAC. She has served as Program Coordinator at RBANMS, an underprivileged school supported for three years by the Bangalore International Centre, where she led the development and execution of arts curriculum.
She is currently Professor-in-Practice with Kristu Jayanti, and adjunct professor with Jain Humanities College. She is also a collaborator with the education division of Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) for the project Art Insight.
She co-founded STUDIOTHC1915 in Bangalore, that she runs with her partner, Sethu Krishnan, part of their parent company, The Heuristic Collaborative. Through THC, they served as art directors for the Kannada film Mundina Nildana. They currently produce video and audio content on platforms like Youtube and Spotify. They have worked on spatial design projects including the redesign of two Montessori schools in Bangalore.
In her personal practice, she experiments with painting, mixed-media and digital illustration. She has illustrated for ‘AyurAhaar’ a book which combined her love for botanical art with her interests in nutrition. Samyuktha has a BFA in painting from College of Fine Arts, Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore University.
Samyukta Rao
Artist, Educator
Sethu Krishnan
Writer. Illustrator
Sethu Krishnan is trained as a sculptor and works across writing, illustration, education, and spatial design. His practice is rooted in material understanding and extends into narrative, visual thinking, and built environments.
He co-runs STUDIOTHC1915 a creative studio he founded with his partner, Samyuktha Rao, which is part of their parent company, The Heuristic Collaborative. Through this platform, they served as art directors for the Kannada feature film Mundina Nildana, which streamed for five years on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
They have also worked on spatial design projects which include the redesign of two Montessori schools in Bangalore, focusing on functionality, material sensitivity, and child-centered learning environments.
Sethu is currently writing a long-form epic and developing a graphic novel. He is also developing a graphic comic in collaboration with Indian Summer Press, a Delhi based publishing house. His illustration and visual scribing work includes collaborations with The Trans-Disciplinary University, where he translated academic and research ideas into visual frameworks. In the past eight years he has been teaching students from diverse age groups and backgrounds. He is presently an adjunct professor of design at Jain Humanities College. He is also deeply invested in technology and interdisciplinary creative practice.
Sethu holds a BFA in Sculpture from the College of Fine Arts, Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore University.
COLLABORATORS
Moutushi Chakraborty is an artist and pedagogue, primarily working in the medium of prints and archival photography since 2001.
As a Printmaker, the artist delves beyond the technical aspects of the medium to enquire into its historical legacy and sociological impact. Her creative pursuit also involves myriad mediums like painting, collage, paper-pulp, and fabric. Her works are an intrepid celebration of feminine grit, beauty and sensuality, refuting prevalent cannons of endorsement through the subtlety of dark humour. Moutushi is alumnus of Visva-Bharati University, M.S. University Baroda and Wimbledon School of Art. She is recipient of the Charles Wallace Award, Commonwealth Foundation Fellowship, Lalit Kala Akademi Award and AIFACS award. She has participated in numerous significant National and international exhibitions over the year. She held her third solo exhibition ‘The Homeland’ in 2019 at the India International Centre, Delhi. Currently she is teaching as Assistant Professor at Amity University Kolkata.
Nikhil Purohit is an artist and arts administrator with over 16 years of experience.
Through Faandee Arts Archival Documentation and Research, he provides services like curation, exhibition design, writing, documentation, conservation, institutional advisory, pedagogical solutions, and support for artists, galleries, and institutions. He has worked with the Bihar Museum, Mohile Parikh Center for Visual Arts, Kochi Biennale Foundation, NGMA Mumbai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Government Museum and Art Gallery Chandigarh, among other institutions. Nikhil was executive editor of The Indian Contemporary Art Journal, Mumbai (2017-20). His recent project, co-curated with Lina Vincent at Bihar Museum and Chandigarh Museum, is “da(r)shak: A Decade of Printmaking & Viewership,” celebrating ten years of the International Print Exchange Programme India. Nikhil has developed learning methods for students in Art History, Aesthetics, and Visual Studies at Amity University Maharashtra, Sir J. J. School of Art, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Symbiosis Institute of Design, Whistling Woods, and MIT Pune.
Waylon D’Souza is a Goa-based trans-disciplinary artist and designer with a research-driven practice
He collates principles of education, philosophy, and culture to iterate pan-disciplinary experiments in sustainability science. He has trained in a matrix of symbiotic disciplines including fine arts, animation, aquaponics, permaculture, and industrial design, which he uses to examine changes in hydrology, ecosystems, lifestyle and climate. His creations advance environmental solutions through materially symbolic and visually compelling works. In an ever-expanding space of experimentation, Waylon’s practice moves into varied mediums, forms of expression, and articulations. Much like a kaleidoscope, he reorganises the same elements eternally to produce new and exciting manifestations. This produces a conceptual underpinning that allows his work to be recognized and understood. His works have been exhibited at Mumbai Art Room, Serendipity Arts festival, Goa, Changwon Sculpture Biennale in South Korea. His practice utilises urban spaces as a canvas for socio-ecological experiences through landscape design.
Cover Illustration: Samyuktha Rao
Lina Vincent photo credit: Michael Praveen