Antara MV Catamarans, 2025
The Catamarans refurbishment project involved redesigning vessels which sail in Bhitarkanika National Park, Odisha. The four catamarans were transformed from 20-passenger boats to become expedition vessels with two guest rooms and a lounge. Ceejo Cyriac of Little River Architects worked in collaboration with Jackfruit, and the renovations were completed in Dhamra using local resources, with commissioned furniture from Salwans, New Delhi.
Antara MV Bengal Ganga, 2024
Built in 2004, the Bengal Ganga was renovated in 2024 into a graceful, contemporary vessel featuring 20 suites. In collaboration with Thumbimpressions, an architectural firm from Surat, and an in-house team at Heritage River Journeys, we have reimagined this river cruise ship by taking cues from 1970s interiors in which wood and earthy palettes were common. The decor incorporates wood, metal, paper, and ceramic elements, enhancing the original gleaming Burmese teak floors and decks. The ship also showcases specially commissioned abstract paintings by Anil Chandran P, adding to its fresh, stylish, and restful ambience.
The Past has a Home in the Future, 2024
The exhibition showcased Connaught Place as a vital site where politics and cultural production across India’s long 20th century to the present. It provided both a historical and a contemporary account of the area and its residents, through the story of Dhoomimal Gallery, India’s first commercial art gallery. Jackfruit curated the exhibition, with research contributions from Anandit Sachdev, Prashansa Sachdeva and Sayan Gupta. Ceejo Cyriac of Little River Architects designed the gallery space. The exhibition combined various paintings, photographs, textiles, ceramics, musical instruments and more from various collections and freshly commissioned projects that pay homage to Connaught Place’s many renowned creators.
Link to the catalogue: The Past has a Home in the Future E-Catalogue
Restless Line in the Art of Seema Kohli, 2024
This publication reflects on Seema Kohli’s four-decade-long engagement with the arts. Through critical essays and interviews, each essay in the book seeks to trace the complexities and evolution of the artist’s journey. It establishes her need to experiment with form and story building, referencing her paintings, installations, performances, and written works. As an artist, Kohli employs memory, oral histories, and spiritual experiences in worlds where the mythical, contemporary, fantastical, and real-life overlap. The book compiles essays by eleven writers from diverse backgrounds, including Adwait Singh, Amruta Patil, Dipanjali Deka, Katie Lazarowicz, Charty Dugdale, Gauri Parimoo Krishnan, Seema Bawa, Vaishnavi Ramanathan, Sona Datta, and Lina Vincent—along with an introduction and an essay by Annapurna Garimella. The book organizes the artist’s work into four parts: The Body is her Studio, Our Myths Feed her Fantasies, Her Workshop is her Shrine, and In Continuum, this book is edited by Annapurna Garimella and Sindhura DM, with Anshika Varma as a consultant.
Purchase Link: RESTLESS LINE in the art of SEEMA KOHLI
Antara MV Ganga Vilas, 2022
The Ganga Vilas, a luxury cruise ship that sails the world’s longest river cruise, has 18 luxurious suites and embodies post-independence Indian and international design innovation. The suites were decorated with sophisticated mid-century furniture, exquisite Gyasar textiles from Varanasi, and contemporary meditative art. Every suite pays tribute to Josef Albers’ Homages to the Square paintings, in which he explored color and perception. This artistic inspiration extends to each room’s unique color scheme and artworks by Anil Chandran P, harmonizing with the room’s palette and the organic geometric forms of Neo-Tantrism. The Ganga Vilas was conceptualized and designed by Annapurna Garimella, with extensive sourcing of design elements from across India by Sindhura DM, and constructed at BN Bose & Co shipyard in Ghusuri, West Bengal.
A Circle of Our Own, 2019
Seema Kohli‘s solo exhibition, curated by Shaunak Mahubani in New Delhi, explored the diverse roles of the Goddess and the complex relationships between human and non-human life. Kohli drew inspiration from yogini temples for this exhibition, envisioning a modern circle of sixty-four goddesses rendered through etchings and sandstone sculptures. These pieces were displayed at Sunder Nursery, a location known for its Mughal architecture and lotus pond, creating a cohesive setting that united various feminine energies. Gallery Ragini, New Delhi, organized the exhibition, with project management by Jackfruit and exhibition design by Ceejo Cyriac of Little River Architects.
Link to the catalogue: A Circle of Our Own
AIA Tours, South & North India 2012-2019
When the Archaeological Institute of America decided to offer trips to India for the first time, Jackfruit designed the itineraries for tours to be operated by Exotic Journeys Pvt.Ltd, New Delhi. The two tours traverse large areas of northern and southern India and visit a wide range of sites dating from the Neolithic to the contemporary. The tours focus on the histories and aesthetics of various sites, their transformation into archaeological monuments, as well as provide insights into contemporary culture.
Vernacular InFlux, 2018
As part of a not-for-profit initiative, the India Art Fair provided an exhibition space for Jackfruit to curate an exhibition in the 2018 fair. We showcased artworks of Gond, Mithila, and Guruvayur artists. Despite the significant presence of the vernacular art practitioners, the contemporary relevance of their diverse art forms—often categorized as folk, tribal, religious, courtly, bazaar, and popular—and the artists themselves are not always recognized or fully integrated within the Anglophone art world. Vernacular InFlux created a platform by placing these artists alongside contemporary artists within the context of an internationally renowned India Art Fair exhibition, offering a unique opportunity for broader engagement and appreciation.
Barefoot School of Craft, 2017-2018
Serendipity Barefoot School of Craft project was a unique approach to architectural design, emphasizing the importance of community engagement and local resources. This two-year project showcased innovative architectural concepts and highlighted the significance of integrating craftsmanship with design principles. The exhibition at the Serendipity Art Festival 2017 provided a platform for architects and students to present their visions for a school that would nurture craft education while respecting local materials and skills.
The 15 selected designs, transformed into detailed architectural models, demonstrated a diverse range of approaches to creating a learning environment that celebrates craftsmanship. These models likely explored various aspects of sustainable design and educational spaces tailored to hands-on learning. By focusing on community involvement, the project underscored the potential for architecture to catalyze preserving local traditions and fostering a sense of place. The small pavilion within the Children’s Park at the Panjim complex was designed and constructed by Mozaic, an architecture firm in Goa, to accommodate the display of shortlisted models. In addition to these exhibits, a clay, wood-fired oven was built by local bakers. The intention was to invite people to bring their dough and bake their bread in a community oven.
Mutable | Ceramics and Clay Art in India since 1947, 2017-2018
Mutable was an exhibition of ceramics and clay art in India from 1947 to 2017. The exhibition showcased a diverse range of materials, techniques and objects through the five sections at the Piramal Museum of Art, Mumbai. The exhibition mapped hereditary and studio-trained potters’ heterogeneous use of unfired, low and high-temperature fired terracotta and ceramic clay. It also exhibited works by artists who use clay as one medium among several in their repertoire, as well as tracing the work of institutions and organizations which have worked with potters across the country. Mutable accommodated objects such as tableware, installations, sculptures, instruments, idols, dolls, and experiments, which are made of ceramic and clay. Conceptually, the exhibition sought to untangle through these objects what historical meanings are imbued in words such as “artisan”, “craftsman”, “contemporary ceramics/ceramicists” and “craft”, all of which have multiple meanings and frame the objects and their makers in specific ways. Sometimes, they are used interchangeably and at other times, they represent hierarchical conceptualisations of creativity and acts of making. The outcome of this exhibition is a publication that documents all the research conducted for this project, along with cataloguing the works that were part of the exhibition. The book was co-published by Mapin in collaboration with the Piramal Art Foundation.
Link for purchase: Mutable