Photography: Sharad Srivastav
To search is what Khoj means, and that’s exactly what this experimental open space has been engaging with for the past twenty-five years. I had the opportunity to chat with Director and Co-Founder, Pooja Sood, to know what it’s taken to run this very accessible, welcoming space that gives a voice to the artists, lets them rise and fall, pushes them to ask important and relevant questions, urges them to leave their comfort space and hopes that along the way, they not only surprise themselves, but also create something that they wouldn’t otherwise.
Shruti Kapur Malhotra: Congratulations on completing twenty five amazing and inspiring years. From conducting annual workshops when you began, to curating weekly programs, where do we see Khoj go from here?
Pooja Sood: Thank you so much. The past 25 years have been sometimes difficult but overall super exciting! Looking ahead, we are continuing broadly with some of the thematics that we have been working with: ecology, gender and technology.
SKM: Let’s talk about technology further.
PS: At Khoj we are keen to explore the role of Artificial Intelligence and the internet - with a special focus on the ramifications of both on the social landscape. On the other hand, we also need to navigate the newer forms of art-making such as NFTs which have taken the art world by storm.
SKM: So, artists should be really ‘responsible (to society) ‘ in what they create?
PS: I think there are different genres of art making. We, at Khoj, are committed to all kinds of practices; material practice, live arts, expanded cinema and image making and socially engaged art practice. So it’s not the form that they choose that is important, but what they are trying to say /or do with it that makes a difference. At Khoj we are looking at both “what does art do?” and “what can art be?”
This article is an all exclusive excerpt from our November Bookazine. To read the entire conversation and more such articles, grab your copy here.
Text Shruti Kapur Malhotra
Date 24-11-2022