In Conversation: Pala Pothupitiye and Dr. Tushara Bindu Gude

Pala Pothupitiye and Dr. Tushara Bindu Gude are sitting down for a conversation at the Phoenix Art Museum on Saturday, November 14, from 12 PM to 1 PM. It's a midday talk, so it fits easily into a Saturday morning if you're already planning to be downtown.

The conversation marks the opening of the refreshed Dr. Sukumar Nagendran Wing for the Art of Asia and the inaugural Nagendran Gallery for the Art of Sri Lanka and South Asia, which houses a solo exhibition by Pothupitiye. Born in Sri Lanka in 1972, Pothupitiye is an internationally recognized artist whose interdisciplinary practice draws on traditional Sri Lankan craftsmanship to challenge caste-based practices and colonial frameworks. He's particularly known for his conceptually layered map series, and he took home the First Prize Jury Award at the 2010 Sovereign Asian Art Prize. He's also the founder and chairman of Millennium Art Contemporary (MiAC).

Joining him is Dr. Tushara Bindu Gude, an art historian and curator based in Charleston, South Carolina. She spent 2006 to 2022 as Associate Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at LACMA and previously worked as Assistant Curator at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. In 2018-19, she curated The Jeweled Isle: Art of Sri Lanka at LACMA, so she's well-versed in the region's art history.

Between the two of them, you've got the artist himself and a curator who's spent years working with South Asian art, which should make for a conversation that goes a bit deeper than a standard gallery talk. The session runs from 12 PM to 1 PM on Saturday, November 14, and it's included with general admission to the museum.