A new venture...

It is with great pleasure that we bring  a year of collaborative programs to Baroda from June 2014 to March 2015.  SITE  art space & The Collective Studio  Baroda both share a vision for art that focuses upon community and interaction as seminal features that we wish to engage with, as well as highlight alternative spaces of exhibiting and discourse as valuable and critical to sustaining an energized and ever evolving art context. We hope that the programs generate excitement and participation that allows for this idea of cultural engagement to be rewarding for the city of Baroda.

SITE  art space is situated in GIDC Makerpura within the heart of the industrial production zone. Placing this alternative space which houses a fabricating unit an exhibition gallery, a display space of art products designed for commercial use, a library, a residency program unit & a pop up café space within such a location is to reaffirm the need of alternative art spaces both nationally and abroad, and to continue the traditions of this practice that is a valued part of art history. Where the community of artists and the audience are more intimately engaged with discourse and interaction. 

SITE art space is the brain child of Manish Maheshwari & Piyush Maheshwari two brothers with a wonderful vision to have a space that invites art & ideas to be show cased in Baroda.  Manish is an his engineer in electronics and telecommunications but was always engaged with creating things from different materials, and believes in making any design workable. It was his keenness to be involved  with art that inspired him to establish SITE art space along with his brother Piyush who has a background in commerce and assists in the back office management very efficiently.

The Collective Studio Baroda was set up by Surendran and myself in the traditions of the guru shishya practice where students and teachers live and work together. It is a space of learning that does not charge any fee nor accepts any payback via works of art in exchange either. Founded on the principle of trust and belief to the commitment and passion to study art from the comprehension of it being a holistic world of imbibing knowledge and experience and where the rigours of long hours of studio practice are mandatory, the selection of students and young artists are through invitation only. Teaching, residencies, lecture programs, curatorial projects and fund raising are amongst some of the major activities that we focus on.