Sam Gilliam Award Program: A Conversation with Sheela Gowda and Rattanamol Singh Johal

Sheela Gowda, the 2025 Sam Gilliam Award recipient, discusses her evocative, process-oriented practice with art historian and curator Rattanamol Singh Johal. Rooted in her observations of urban and rural life in South India, Gowda’s practice investigates issues of labor, gender, and the sociopolitical conditions shaping contemporary society. Through her poetic yet politically charged installations, she transforms humble materials—such as cow dung, hair, incense, and tar drums—into powerful reflections on resilience, ritual, and the interconnectedness of human experience.

Thursday, November 20, 2025, 6 PM

Dia Chelsea
537 West 22nd Street
New York, New York