In this special audio series, different staff members from the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design talk with some of the artists featured in the #8x8_shangrila exhibition and take a deep dive into their processes, materialities, and their diverse takes on the theme of place.

Conversations were recorded either in person in Shangri La’s offices following Covid-19 protocols, or via Zoom. The music featured in this series is by Kahnma, a singer and songwriter featured in the #8x8_shangrila exhibition. Check out her full performance here. The 8x8 audio series was recorded and edited by Jason Taglianetti.

In this episode, Dr. Leslee Michelsen, Shangri La’s Curator of Exhibitions & Collections, holds a conversation with multimedia artist and professor, Reem Bassous, and dancer, philosopher and professor, Sai Bhatawadekar. They explore topics such as how to express ethereality through art, how to channel loss and rebirth, and the complex layers of what it means to appreciate, collect and share art and culture that is not your own.

“I’m always affected by the complexity of what it means to call something yours that was not yours...appreciating, acquiring, collaging together different things from across the world that have meant something to you but at the same time have meant something to the places from where they came.That relationship is extremely complex.” - Sai Bhatawadekar

Kamran Samimi Audio - Part 1 : A Conversation with Curator Dr. Leslee Michelsen

Shangri La AudioBy Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & DesignJul 20, 2021