AT A GLANCE
Srisrividhiya Kalyanasundaram, PhD
Area of Practice:
OVERVIEW
Srivi Kalyan is a multifaceted artist, designer and scholar. She works at the fluid and exciting intersection of arts, media, education, design, environment and consciousness.
Her art is an act of wandering within the sacred place of the self. Drawing inspiration from traditional Indian arts and aesthetics, her creative expressions span visual art, creative writing, and performance, delving profoundly into transformations of consciousness. Grounded in the mystical and aesthetic heritage of the Indian subcontinent, Srivi’s ability to traverse between the tangible and intangible mirrors the innate strength derived from this rich amalgamation of creative traditions. Srivi’s scholarly investigations intricately connect the non-linear flow of time in artistic creativity through decolonization, fostering a reflective engagement through practice research.
Srivi has authored and illustrated several books for children and adults and is an award-winning writer and illustrator. At Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design and Technology (SMI), she was a Dean of the Cluster of Law, Environment and Planning and has pioneered several cutting-edge programs that bring social design, artistic practices, self-reflection and ecological consciousness together to reimagine our present and our futures. She is the principal investigator at Lila- Artist Research Studio and heads the Centre for Reimagining Transitions as well. She is an adjunct professor at the Consciousness Studies Program, National Institute of Advanced Studies and a trustee at the Trust for Environmental Education.
EDUCATION
Ph.D, Area of Focus: Art and Ecological Consciousness, 2021. The University of Trans-disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, Srishti Institute of art, Design and Technology, Bangalore, India. Thesis Title: The Porous Self: Crafting an intrinsic ecological consciousness through Text, Image & Movement. 2. Ed. M Arts in Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA, 2007. 3. M.A. History of Fine Arts, Stella Maris College, Chennai, India
WORK EXPERIENCE
- Faculty, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design and Technology, 2014-Current
- Adjunct Professor, Consciousness Studies Program, National Institute of Advanced Studies, 2022-Current
- Founder-Director of Fooniferse Arts Pvt. Ltd. ( www.sriviliveshere.com ) 2009-2023
- Authored and illustrated several children’s books as well as stories for adults and is an award winning writer and illustrator. Her stories and illustrations have been published by Katha, Puffin, Tulika, Ediciones Castillo, Oxford Bookstore Website, Reader’s Digest, Manoj Prakshan and others
- Worked for some of the leading educational/edutainment organizations like Sesame Street, NCERT, idiscoveri, Katha, Tulika, Birla Edutech, Ilango’s Art space, designing cutting edge books and media for children and young people on one end, and workshops, curriculum, teacher training modules, interdisciplinary strengthening, design and delivery of curriculums on the other
- Worked as the Creative Director, Sesame Street India, 2007-2009 on developing several educational design projects, books, media and curricula, teacher training, working across diverse media platforms, branding & advertising.
- Worked as an educator, educational consultant at different schools in K-12 settings
- Runs creative programs in eco-art, environmental aesthetics and philosophy in diverse platforms, develops creative environmental educational tools, curricula and programs.
- Writes popular articles on art and art education in magazines and websites
- Has worked on several academic papers, book chapters and a book on Art, Design and Ecological consciousness, with a strong focus on Indian knowledge traditions.
INTEREST AREAS
Environmental Art, Aesthetics and Philosophy; Ecological consciousness; Consciousness Studies and Indian knowledge traditions; Arts education; Visual Art & Design; Illustration; Environmental Education; Conservation Communication; Indian Art, Aesthetics & Art history; Creative writing
CURRENT PRACTICE AT SRISHTI
Principal Investigator and Lead – Lila: Artist Research Studio and Center for Reimagining Transitions (CRT), Head – Integrated Doctoral program in Reimagining Transitions, Head – Practice Research in Doctoral program. Areas of Study – Art and Ecological consciousness, Practice Research, Contemplation and Compassion, Consciousness Studies, Decolonization, Knowledge Transitions, Teaching and learning, Aesthetics and Indian Knowledge traditions, and Creative Writing.
TEACHING PORTFOLIO
Students in diverse landscapes investigating both ecological and cultural consciousness in Galibore, Hampi and Seethanadi through multiple art and design practices. Art work by Yuganshika Garg, based on trip to Galibore.
CREATIVE PRACTICE & OUTREACH
Srivi is a multifaceted artist, designer and writer. She delights in creating art and creative writing that inform and intertwine with each other through paintings, installations and the book as an art form. Quirky, playful and paradoxical she actively forges works that explore the interplay of void and earthiness, creating complex patterns of the self- reflecting, mirroring and rejoicing. Delicate, feathery numinous lines of gold belie convictions on paper to be savoured in slow time. Her creative works can be viewed on her website http://www.sriviliveshere.com/
