Biodata
(information courtesy: wikipedia.com)
Anil Kumar H.A is an art critic, art historian, curator of contemporary visual arts and art pedagogician, born and brought up in Bangalore. He is an art writer, writing about Modern and Contemporary Indian art in general and that of art of Karnataka in particular, since 1990s. He was engaged in art journalism for two decades, regularly contributing art reviews to popular Bangalore-based newspapers like Indian Express, Times of India, Deccan Herald, Kannada Prabha, Prajavani, Vaarapatrike.
He is a recepient of Charles Wallace India Trust Award, (http://www.britishcouncil.org/india-scholarships-cwit.htm) (2004-2005) to study partial M.A in the department of Curating Contemporary Art, Royal College of Art, London (September 2004- April 2005). He is also a recepient of Unesco-Aschberg fellowship (http://portal.unesco.org/culture)as a part of which he was an artist-in-residency at HIAP (Helsinki International Artist-in-residency Programme, 2004; http://www.hiap.fi)in 2004.
He taught as a Senior Grade Lecturer in the Dept. of Architecture, Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bangalore (1996-2006). Currently he teaches (since 2006)as a Senior Grade Lecturer in the Department of Art History, College of Fine Arts, http://Chitrakalaparishath.org, Bangalore.
Anil Kumar has been writing about contemporary Indian art since 1992 in English and Kannada. He has taught aesthetics, philosophy and culture of visual arts in College of Fine Arts, Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore; Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts, Mysore; Ken school of Arts, Bangalore and Ideal Fine Arts Society, Gulbarga. He has created an awareness in visual culture amongst the rural population by regularly delivering art appreciation lectures in places like NiNaSam, Theatre Repertory, Heggodu, Shimoga, Karnataka, headed by the Magsaysay awardee K.V. Subbanna and directed by Prof. U.R. Ananthamurthy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U._R._Ananthamurthy). His major books, articles, art reviews and monographs are accessible online at http://www.anilkumarha.com
Theoretic Position:His major contribution has been towards the empowerment of the notion of internal-diaspora. While the postcolonial historically was negotiating the question of nationalism, he wrote on how the very subaltern nurtures the possibilities of a sub-categorisation: how the recently empowered contemporary post-colonial in itself forms and hierarchy, giving way to the marginalised. For instance, in his bilingual monographic book on Shankaragowda Bettadoor, he argues for an autonomy for those artists who studied but did not exist within the aura of the Bengal Renaissance art group (the first modernist artists of India).Books:(1) Nota Pallata[1] (in Kannada, first published in 1998, second publication (both published by Abhinava prakashana) 2001 and the third edition (2008) brought out by Karnataka Lalitkala Academy 2008, as one of the hundred books selected to celebrate the 50th year of Karnataka Rajyotsava Committee, published by artist V.T.Kale, Chairman). (http://www.anilkumarha.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/book.pdf)
(2) Shankaragowda Bettadoor[2]–a bilingual (Kannada & English) monograph (2008) published by artist V.T.Kale, Chairman, Karnataka Lalitkala Academy, Kannada Bhavana, J.C.Road, Bangalore. (http://www.anilkumarha.com/?cat=14)
(3) K.T.Shiva Prasad– [3]a bilingual (Kannada & English) monograph, (2000) published by artist V.G.Andani, Chairman, Karnataka Lalitkala Academy, Kannada Bhavana, J.C.Road, Bangalore.
(1), (2) & (3) http://www.anilkumarha.com
His travel experience writings and photographs, based on his interaction with the visual artists and culture of contemporary British and Finland, in Kannada, are listed among the ‘best of sampada’ (http://sampada.net/user/anilkumar)