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This lecture will consider the impact of the Hindu monk from India, Swami Vivekananda, and his speech at the inaugural session of the World Parliament of Religions in 1893, in what is today the Art Institute of Chicago’s Fullerton Hall. It will present the contemporary artist Jitish Kallat’s response to the speech with a site–specific installation at the Art Institute titled Public Notice 3 in 2010–11. The continued relevance of the speech and the impact of the installation will be further explored.  

Dr. Madhuvanti Ghose is the inaugural Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian and Himalayan Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Since joining the museum in 2007, she launched the Alsdorf Galleries in 2008 and has curated numerous exhibitions and installations. From 2012 to 2016 she led the Vivekananda Memorial Program for Museum Excellence, funded by the government of India and designed to foster professional exchange between the Art Institute and museums in India. Dr. Ghose was previously Lecturer in South Asian Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies. She completed her doctoral dissertation from the University of London and was a Research Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University. Her current research interests include the art of the Pushtimarg sect; the Indian cultural doyenne Pupul Jayakar; and the textiles of Bengal.

Complimentary admission. Sponsored by the Kommareddi Family Lecture Series.