For immediate release

The Indo-American Arts Council in collaboration with Middlesex County College are proud to present
“Site of Departure, Source of Arrival”
- Group Art Exhibition spotlighting works of Diaspora artists by Guest curator Kathryn Myers, Professor of Art, University of Connecticut

Raghava KK Title: Olympia reworked	Sataykam Saha Title : Desire-III	Sonia Chaudhary Title: "I Am Sin"

New York, NY- February 8th, 2010: The Indo-American Arts Council in collaboration with the Middlesex County College proudly present, ‘Site of Departure, Source of Arrival’ – a group art exhibition featuring works of diaspora artists who make a connection to their place of origin, expressing their heritage in diverse ways. The opening reception will take place in the Studio Theatre Gallery on Thursday, February 25th from 5-7pm and is free to the public. This will be followed by special dance performances at the Performing Arts Center at 7 pm. Tickets for the dance performance are $20 for the general public and $10 for students and seniors.

The artists in this exhibition share points of origin and connection in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora - including India, Pakistan, Trinidad and the United States – all presently work in the New York metropolitan area. The exhibition features works by Sonia Chaudhary, Ruby Chishti, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Asha Ganpat, Nidhi Jalan, Raghava KK, and Satyakam Saha. The artists’ represent new talent among the South Asian artistic community. Amina B. Ahmed, Director of Exhibitions, Indo-American Arts Council says, “We are proud of our mission and the work that we do in educating, building community and promoting awareness of Indian and cross-cultural art forms.”

Guest curator of the exhibition, Kathryn Myers, Professor of Art, University of Connecticut elaborates on each artist and the exhibition. She says, "Site of Departure Source of Arrival" is a powerful and provocative exhibition. It investigates the many ways these artists explore, unveil and reveal difference, identity, religion and culture, expressed through art practice as site and reference. It is an exhibition where a variety of artistic languages, sculpture, installation, video and printmaking invite translation, interpretation and engagement. Many of the works are being shown for the first time. Asha Ganpat, Ruby Chishti have completed works especially for this exhibition. Included are site specific works by Satyakam Saha and Raghva KK a self taught artist, whose recent 2009 solo show in India sold out before the opening night.India’s colonial past and imminent presence provides fresh inspiration for a continuing dialogue about the nature of shifting power relations and identity in Nidhi Jalan’s video “Bangalored”.Sonia Chaudhary’s sumptuous hand-made book evokes the powerful presence of holy books such as the Quran or the Bible.Like Asha Ganpat, Nidhi Jalan and Indrani-Nayar Gall through varying degrees of poignant and potent humor, irony, anger and empathy, are acutely conscious of the gains and losses embodied in the migratory experience.”

The opening reception will be held on Thursday, February 25 from 5-7pm and will be followed by dance performances composed of works from the Indian Diaspora of the tri-state region. They include the Parijat Desai Dance Company, the Parul Shah Dance Company, Maria Colaco Dance and a solo performance by Ramya Ramnarayan. For more information, on the artists and dancers, please visit

Prachi Dalal, Director of Dance, Indo-American Arts Council, says, “the program will reflect the range and diversity in Indian dance today, and new trajectories developed by choreographers from the Diaspora. This evening will be a revelation to those familiar with Indian dance as well as for those new to the world of Indian dance and theater. These dancers share movement, musical traditions and inspiration from the Indian subcontinent. They reinterpret and create new narratives, movement vocabularies and aesthetic structures using tradition as the source of innovation.”

For directions, click here: www.middlesexcc.edu/aboutmcc/control.cfm/ID/2528

For the 2010 Exhibition Schedule, catalogue and further information, please visit

About the Indo-American Arts Council:
The Indo-American Arts Council Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit, secular service and resource arts organization charged with the mission of promoting and building the awareness, creation, production, exhibition, publication and performance of Indian and cross-cultural art forms in North America. The IAAC supports all artistic disciplines in the classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of India. We work cooperatively with colleagues around the United States to broaden our collective audiences and to create a network for shared information, resources and funding. Our focus is to work with artists and arts organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists and arts organizations from India to exhibit, perform and produce their works here. For more information, please visit

For more information about the event, contact:
Tom Peterson at 732.906.2512 / TPeterson@middlesexcc.edu
To Purchase tickets for the dance performance, call: 866-811-4111
or visit www.middlesexcc.edu/theatre or
For more information, call The MCC Theater at 732-906-2589.

Press Contacts: Peepul PR
Gayatri Hingorani-Dewan: gayatri@mypeepul.com / 917.346.0551
High resolution pictures are available upon request