Vrushali Dhage
Part-Time Facultyat Otis College of Art and DesignArt historian and curator. My current area of research considers artistic research, public participation, and interdisciplinary collaborations as vital in understanding notions of labor, gender, and respect (or lack thereof) concerning specific traditional practices in India. An ongoing curatorial project aims at re-reading the tradition of godhadi (quilts in Marathi) within the context of global capitalism. It ranges from challenging Eurocentric categorizations of traditional cultural activities to the nonchalance of the participants within the capitalist global circuitry towards the marginalization and exploitation of traditional craftsmen. The project objectively tries to undertake an inclusive approach by integrating artists, artworks, and viewers to participate in the re-reading and re-inscription of artworks.
Other research interests address the study of ecological transformations and urban development in India, post-economic liberalization.