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Manisha AR

Writes about identity, art and culture while exploring avenues for educating audiences about the nuances of these intersections.

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About Me

Photo by Karan Ajith Kumar

Writes about diaspora identity and its influence on art making.

She is the feature editor at Design Pataki, and a co-founding member of the Neu Lithium. When she isn't writing, she uses her communication skills to work with students in higher education.



Independent Projects

The Food Web Series with food writer Shivani Unakar 

Invisible Visible: Poetry Collection with photographer, activist and art therapist Farah Salem 

Remnants/Remanence with new media artist and professor Ziv Ze'ev Cohen 

Alternating Currents, a collaborative essay with digital artist Anneli Goeller 

Get in Touch

  1. If you are a diaspora artists and/or work in new media or performance art, you can email me press releases related to openings and upcoming work on mrita[at]saic[dot]edu.
  2. Currently not taking any writing/editing clients. Check back for updates! 
  3. Social media handles on the top right.
  4. If you use any of the images of me from this website, please credit the photographer Karan Ajith Kumar.

Talk to you soon! 

My Writing

Design Pataki •

A Look At This Modern Art-Deco Inspired Farmhouse In Ghitorni, New Delhi

Spread across two floors, this three-acre farmhouse in New Delhi is an extravagant home experience. Inspired by the nature surrounding the location, the interiors of Ghitorni Residence are sharp contrasts of earthen shades like brown, green, grey, and beige. Bold color variances, layered textures, and ostentatious pieces are the design language for the home. A large sculpture greets one at the entrance, followed by a massive wooden block that serves as a door.
Design Pataki •

Anonymity, Art, And Socio-Political Commentary - Talks To Street Artist Tyler, Dubbed ‘Mumbai’s Banksy’

Street artist Tyler’s solo exhibition opened at Method Gallery earlier this month as part of Mumbai Gallery Weekend. While the Gallery Weekend may be over, the show is still on view across two venues in Bandra and Kala Ghoda. An unexpected plus is that Tyler has painted over the shutter of Method Contemporary Art and Treats, Bandra so viewers can get a taste of his exhibition even when it is closed. The event received a lot of coverage over social media, a tool that has been pivotal in his incre
South Side Weekly •

Art and Investigation

The installation “70 Days Behind Inventory” is a jigsaw puzzle of brown and beige vinyl tiles arranged on a raised wooden platform to represent the floor from a corner store in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. The floor is stained and the image of what appears to be a beverage can is printed on the tiles. A yellow bulb overhead creates a pool of light in the center of this piece by multidisciplinary artist Shadi Habib Allah. This 750-square-foot installation is part of an exhibit entitled “Put
Design Pataki •

Art Shows To Check Out In Mumbai This Month

We bring you a quick review round-up of shows to stop at in Mumbai this week. The positive impact of moving everything online for two years is visible when you look at the choice of artists and themes.

Jhaveri Contemporary, for instance, is debuting two diaspora artists from the UK, while Galerie Isa brings together a collaboration between miniature artists and landscape painters from two very different contexts.

We’ve also included a collaboration between art critic Nancy Adajania and textile artist Nelly Sethna. The retrospective explores narratives around Sethna’s work that brings her story and work back to life with fresh perspectives on textile arts and craft work.

Lastly we have a show that celebrates the ‘feminal universe’ at Method Art Space in Kala Ghoda by the iconic duo who make up WOLF, Jaipur.
F Newsmagazine •

Big Laughs and 'The Big Sick'

Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan have crafted a thoughtful romantic comedy which examines the relationship between race and stand-up comedy.

Set in Chicago, “The Big Sick” tries to answer some of the questions Americans may have about Pakistani Muslim culture. The movie opens with Kumail Nanjiani (portraying a character of the same name) arguing for more time onstage as he gets ready to deliver his pithy stand-up set. His jokes are awkward. He struggles to impress a talent agent in the audience who is scouting for comics to feature in the Montreal Comedy Tour.
Design Pataki •

Chicago gets its first National Indo-American Museum in Lombard

The first-of-its kind in the country, the National Indo-American (NIAM) will center stories of Indian Americans through workshops, exhibits, and other cultural events. Earlier this month, they opened their doors to visitors in Chicago, Illinois. Over time the museum hopes to build an archive of Indo-American history and culture. In 2008, they existed as a heritage museum in the Education department of Chicago’s Indo-American center.
Design Pataki •

Chila Kumari Singh Takes Over Tate Britain With ‘Remembering A Brave New World’

Last year we saw the festival of lights take center stage in various museum and gallery programming events, including at the Tate Britain that inaugurated its Winter Commission that was given to Chila Kumari Singh Burman in 2020. The show opened on Diwali weekend in November which according to her was a complete coincidence. Design Pataki spoke with iconic British artist about the opportunity to remake the facade of Tate Britain, South Asian identity and what it takes to have an art career that
South Side Weekly •

Classic Cakes, New Space – South Side Weekly

Looking for a place to order a custom cake for your best friend’s birthday or your grandparents’ anniversary? Well-known and well-loved for their fluffy tres leches cakes, which come in a variety of flavors, Kristoffer’s Cakes should top your list. For those unfamiliar, tres leches is a type of sponge cake made without butter, which results in a cake that’s full of holes and dry enough to be soaked in three types of milk (evaporated, condensed, and heavy cream) to give it texture.
Design Pataki •

Dance Movements And Light Photography Come Together With Bhangra Lexicon: A Conversation With Hardeep Sahota And Tim Smith

British dancer and founder of World Bhangra Day Hardeep Sahota collaborated with Bradford-based photographer and researcher for ‘Bhangra Lexicon’ at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Together they created a visual dictionary that records, in long-exposure photographs, over 300 ephemeral body movements and gestures associated with traditional dance forms like Bhangra, Kathak, breakdancing, and Irish dancing. For each image, a dancer performs a move while holding coloured lights in semi-darkness, so t
The Caravan •

Despite Ongoing Protests, A Look Into Delhi University’s Administration Suggests That Its Housing Problem May Remain Unresolved

Earlier this year, in the first week of October, Praveen Kumar Singh, an alumnus of Delhi University (DU) and a resident of the nearby Christian Colony near Patel Chest in north campus, went on a week-long hunger strike. Singh was protesting the unregulated rent hikes in neighbourhoods around the campus. This was not Singh’s first hunger strike.
Design Pataki •

Enter the World of Miniatures: An Interview with Instagram’s Miniature Artists

Staying indoors for long periods has encouraged many of us to pursue new hobbies like collecting objects, DIY crafting, even baking. Our team at Design Pataki, however, was particularly intrigued by the resurgence of miniature dollhouses and sculptures on social media. And so, we spoke to three miniature artists to gain perspective on their work. From wanting to regain a sense of control to venturing onto a storytelling adventure, their answers give us insight into this new hobby of art turned into professional craftsmanship.
Design Pataki •

Five Art Shows That You Can Visit In Person

If you missed the Friday night gallery chatter, looking at art in person, sipping drinks at bars and getting to know what curators, artists, and writers have been getting up to, then this list is for you. Whether you enjoy paintings, photographs or sculptures or are just curious to see what the art world is obsessing over lately, we’ve got you covered. We’ve put together a list of shows open to in-person visitors in cities across India.

The art world made strides, many long overdue, when they t
Design Pataki •

French Artist Edith Meusnier On How She Creates Sustainable Textile Art

Experiencing the work of French artist Edith Meusnier is like walking through an enchanted environment. There is beauty all around us but how often do we stop to take it all. Meusnier’s work urges viewers to pause and examine the expansiveness of the world around us. This lockdown in particular has made us all acutely aware of the need to take breaks and pay close attention to people and places close in location to us. With her textile interventions, Meusnier is able to foreground nature while c
F Newsmagazine •

"How to Dig a Hole Outside Itself" is a Collaborative Expansion

As I stepped into the SITE Galleries opening reception for “How to Dig a Hole Outside Itself,” I was surprised by the sheer amount of work on display. Pieces were everywhere: placed high on the wall; almost touching the ceiling; generously spread out on the floor. There was a lot of color, too: bright yellows, reds, blues, a few glimpses of green — even white felt less like background and more like color in the works that were on display.
Newcity Design •

Immigrant Artists: Living Architecture Breathes New Life into the Histories of Chicago

Immigrants have always shaped the rich history of Chicago through their art. Celebrating their contributions today and of the past, 6018 North, a nonprofit for experimental arts and culture, partners with Art Design Chicago to curate a multidisciplinary, citywide show by inviting more than fifty Chicago contemporary immigrant artists. Co-curated by Tricia Van Eck and Teresa Silva, “Living Architecture,” features on- and off-site installations as well as programming throughout the summer that pre
Film Cred •

It's Time to Retire the Quirky Best Friend Trope

In season four, episode 12 of Schitt’s Creek, Moira Rose (Catherine O’Hara) is seen pacing the room as she waits for Roland Schitt to show up at the hospital for his wife Jocelyn (Jenn Robertson) who is going into labor. In a scene that is meant to be about Jocelyn, Moira swoops in and confides in her the fear of her daughter’s failure. Instead of dismissing her for turning a crucial moment in someone else’s life about herself, Jocelyn offers Moira advice. As is typical for protagonists to do, M
Sixty Inches From Center •

Learning from Chicago Artists Coalition’s Equity Listening Sessions

**Disclaimer: The inclusion of race is not intended to be derogatory. Including the racial demographics in this story is a part of understanding who is involved and impacted by these discussions around racial equity. **

“It’s a challenge to get people to actually talk about racial equity. I don’t know if it’s because people in the room don’t know each other, there isn’t that level of trust, of knowing people and feeling comfortable that they will really speak openly what they feel or think,” Ch
Design Pataki •

Looking Back at the History of Dissent Through Shilpa Gupta’s Solo Show at the Barbican

Some might say contemporary artist Shilpa Gupta has a way with words, while others wonder if it’s her ability to be covertly political. But most will agree that her work has a tendency to pick at the soft fleshy part of an issue that affects us all. With the ‘Sun at Night,’ that opened on October 7, 2021 at the Barbican, Gupta once again gave “voice to the voiceless” and brought together all of the fragmented feelings that come with rapid change and social division.
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