Welcome to our interdisciplinary space in the Eastern Himalayas, founded by a passionate team of researchers and artists. Our mission is to foster critical engagement and dialogue in this unique region by merging art practices and research. By doing so, we aim to provide a new perspective on the Hills and its history, moving beyond traditional colonial narratives.
Through deep connections with the local community, we strive to create a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and knowledge sharing. Join us in building a platform that challenges conventional thinking and promotes a culture of inclusivity and innovation.
Mridu Thulung Rai
Mridu Rai is a cultural practitioner working to develop critical and creative methodologies in visual culture. She is currently a PhD scholar in Anthropology at the University College London (UCL). She has curated the Zubaan-Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Through Her Lens programme. She is the recipient of the Critical Collective - PhotoSouthAsia Young Writers Award (2021) for lens-based practices. The Royal Anthropological Institute, London has hosted her exhibition titled How Do I Bring You Home? which explores decolonizing methodologies of engaging with a colonial archive.
Dipti Tamang
She is PhD scholar, currently employed as a full time faculty in Darjeeling Government College. Her areas of interest are gender, conflict and regional identities with focus on Himalayan regions. She holds a PhD in International Studies from J.N.U and is also currently an awardee of the Nehru-Fulbright post- doctoral grant (2020- 2021). She is a former recipient of the Zuban-Sasakawa Peace foundation grant (2019) and has worked on the women’s movement in the Darjeeling Hills. Oral and visual practices form an important part of her research methodology in contextualizing and analyzing the contested regional identities of the political history of Darjeeling hills. She regularly writes and is published with reputed journals and web pages.
Praveen Chettri
Photographer based out of Kalimpong, West Bengal. He worked as in-house photographer for Numero-French fashion magazine in Bangkok, Thailand. Having worked on numerous photo projects in Darjeeling hills and Sikkim Praveen has been involved in several initiatives to educate and bring awareness on pertinent issues relating to Darjeeling hills and Sikkim through the medium of art.
Ashwin Sharma
Ashwin Sharma is a Photographer and a Video Editor based in Kalimpong, India.
Kunga Tashi
An independent photographer based out of Gangtok, Sikkim. His personal work mostly revolves around the notions of space, identity and memories. In 2019, he received the Amiyaprabha Chaudhuri Memorial Grant from Egaro Photo Festival for his project ‘Days Of Summer’. He was part of the 2018 Angkor Photo Workshop/Festival, Cambodia. In 2016, he was part of the Project Denjong team, which carried out the digitisation, preservation and cataloguing of old documents and photographs of the 'Sikkim Palace Archives' (1875-1975) under the British Library’s Endangered Archive Programme and Arcadia.
www.kungatashi.com
Shivam Darnal
Freelance photographer based out of Darjeeling and works as an assistant teacher at the Municipal Boys’ High School, Darjeeling. He uses photography as a medium to express and tell stories.
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Yawan Rai
Brihat Rai
Yawan Rai is a freelance photographer from Gangtok, Sikkim. He completed his Photography Diploma course in 2014 from Delhi and returned home to practice photography both as a profession and hobby. Apart from commercial and commissioned photography work, his work mostly focuses on documenting the stories and ritual practices of the eastern Himalayan indigenous Kirat communities guided by their oral and written narratives, including his own (Dumi Rai).
His visual-artistic practice involves not just taking photos on the field, but also learning the slow art of printmaking, which he feels is an integral part of his process. He also runs a fine art printing studio called Studio Tetteluna in Gangtok, which he started in 2019. The word Tetteluna, that translates to slowness in the Dumi Rai language, guides his artistic practice.
Brihat Rai (b. 1998) is a visual artist from Kalimpong, India. He uses photography as a medium to explore personal narratives and understand how they fit into the larger context of the society. He is an alumnus of Pathshala South Asian Media Institute and has a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of North Bengal. Currently, he works with a visual-production company in Kalimpong, Junkeri Studio.