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Soumya Sankar Bose (b. 1990, Midnapore, India) is an artist based in Kolkata, India. He reconstructs archival materials and oral history into photography, films, alternative archives, and artist books. Bose’s hybrid mode of practice interweaving long-term research and engagement with local communities including his own family history accentuates certain subaltern experiences of the marginalised yet resilient in post-Partition Bengal. Enmeshing fiction and reality, Bose’s work opens up daring realms of memory, desire, vulnerability and identity. Most of Bose’s projects unfold in several chapters and various forms after yearlong conversations and engagement with a marginalized community.
Represented by:
Experimenter Gallery, Kolkata, India.
Portfolio & Installation view : Link
Awards & Fellowships :2024- Artistic chair at the Institut d'études avancées de Nantes, France.
2023- The Louis Roederer Discovery Public Award, Rencontres d'Arles, France.
2023- Hello Magazine India Art Award .
2021- Shortlisted for the Lucie Photo Book prize .
2020- PHmuseum’s Best Photobooks of the year .
2020- Shortlisted for the Paris Photo - Aperture Foundation First Photobook Award .
2020- The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art's Amol Vadehra Art Grant .
2020- The Agroecology Fund in collaboration with Magnum Foundation .
2019- Goethe-Insitut / Max Mueller Bhavan's Five Million Incidents .
2019- World Press Photo's Joop Swart Masterclass .
2019- India foundation for the Arts' Photo Book grant .
2018- Magnum Foundation & Henry Luce Foundation's Migration & Relegion grant .
2017- Magnum Foundation's Photography and Social Justice Fellowship .
2015 & 17- India foundation for the Arts grant under the Arts Practice Programme .
2015- The Toto Emerging Photographer of the Year .Selected Solo Exhibitions :
2024- Delfina Foundation, London, UK, curated by Erin Li. *
2023- Experimenter Colaba, Mumbai, India, Mumbai Gallery Weekend. *
2021- Experimenter Outpost, Sunderbans, India .*
2021- Experimenter ballygunge place, India .*
2019- Experimenter Outpost, Kolkata, India .*
2018- Experimenter, Kolkata, India .*
2016- Chitrabani, Kolkata, India.*
2016- Goethe-Institut,Max Mueller Bhavan, Kolkata,India.*
Selected Group Exhibitions :
2024- Centre de la photographie Genève, Switzerland, Curated by Danaé Panchaud.
2023- Magazzino delle Idee, Trieste, Italy curated by Filippo Maggia.
2023- Belfast Photo Festival, United Kingdom.
2023- The Rencontres d'Arles (France) curated by Tanvi Mishra.
2023- Ishara Art Foundation (Dubai) curated by Sandhini Poddar & Sabih Ahmed.
2022- Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, New York, USA.
2022- Baxter St at CCNY, New York, USA.
2019- CultureHub, New York, USA .
2018- Photo Kathmandu, Nepal .
2018- Houston Center For Photography, Houston,Texas .
2018- SepiaEYE,New York City, NY .
2015- Delhi Photo Festival, Delhi,India.
2015- Goa Photo, Goa, India.Selected Collections :
Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai | Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi | Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario | Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles | Duncan Aviation, USA |Selected Interviews :
This Cup of Spilt Memory : Link
(Dis)Embarking Across Time : Link
Farming Images: The Documentary Practice of Soumya Sankar Bose : LinkSelected Clients :
Le Monde | HSBC Bank | Bloomberg Businessweek |
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung | Acumen | Financial Times |
Selected Residences :
2022- Delfina Foundation/London, UK.
2022- Prohelvetia/Zurich, Switzerland.
Publications :Let's sing an old song
Kolkata: self-published (Red Turtle Photobook), 2021. ISBN 978-1-5136-8884-8. Edition of 500 copies.
Where the Birds Never Sing (English version)
Kolkata: self-published (Red Turtle Photobook), 2020. ISBN 978-1-5136-6415-6. Edition of 600 copies.
Where The Birds never sing (Bengali Version)
Kolkata: (Mandas,India), 2024. ISBN 978-93950-65450. Edition of 500 copies.
Selected Reviews & Critics :
The New York Times | ArtReview Asia | Platform | Wired | Granta | British Journal of Photography |
Indian Express | Better Photography | BBC Online | Mint Lounge | Condé Nast | Art Monthly UK |
The Huffington Post | The Caravan | Harmony | Cosmopolitan | Scroll.in |
Selected Online Talks :
In conversation with Ranu Roychoudhuri, a scholar of modern and contemporary art in South Asia.
: https://vimeo.com/842436869
In conversation with Sarah Meister, Curator of Museum of Modern Art.
: https://youtu.be/QoFI_H0JQZUIn conversation with Sabih Ahemed, creative Head of Ishara Art Foundation (Dubai).
: https://vimeo.com/487559645