Mina Mol, Priyanka Sil, Vaishnavi Singh

Download Here

Aurobindo, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai

Watch Here

1^st April - 3^rd May, 2026

Saturday, April 11, 2026, at 6:00 PM. Siddharth Somaiya’s Opening Remarks for 5 Years of IMMERSE Watch Here & the Entire Event Watch Here

Reena and Jitish Kallat (Ghodapdeo); Sameer Kulavoor, Zeenat Kulavoor (Bombay Duck Designs) and Prajwal Mendon (Parel); Vikrant Bhise (Vikhroli East); and Al-Qawi Nanavati (Mahim)

All IMMERSE artists presented their practice and curators presented the IMMERSE 5.0 show to an audience at Chemould Prescott Road as part of the IMMERSE x Chemould CoLab Mixer on April 29, 2026. The evening culminated in a panel discussion titled Invisible Threads: Community, Friendships and Inclusivity in the Art World, featuring Roshni Vadehra (Director, Vadehra Art Gallery), Atul Dodiya (Artist), Ayesha Parikh (Director, Art + Charlie), Saviya Lopes (Artist), Hena Kapadia (Director, TARQ), and Vishwa Shroff (Artist), moderated by Shireen Gandhy of Chemould Prescott Road. The Fellows also undertook a deep intensive walkthrough and orientation programme with students of the Dr. Shantilal K. Somaiya School of Art, culminating in an IMMERSE presentation session on April 17, 2026.

This year featured an extensive Practical Skills Workshop series. Abhay Sardesai, Director of the Dr. Shantilal K. Somaiya School of Art, led a session on Artist and Curatorial Writing. Amruta Nemivant conducted a workshop on Grant Writing. Siddhant Shah of Access for All led a session on Accessibility in Art. Pankhuri Upadhyay shared insights on Legal Rights in Creative Fields. Natasha Jeyasingh ran a module on Documentation, Paperwork and Career Management. Anupam Sah conducted a session on Restoration and Preservation, and Siddharth Somaiya led a workshop on the Financial Hygiene and Demystifying AI for Artists. Curator Fellows additionally participated in conversations and sessions with Nancy Adajania and Ranjit Hoskote on curatorial practice; Shireen Gandhy of Chemould Prescott Road, who led an exhibition and studio visits; Dr. Pheroza Godrej, Sangita Jindal, Pratik and Priyanka Raja of Experimenter, Roshini Vadehra of Vadehra, Arshia Lokhandwala; and Minal Vazirani of Saffronart and Art Mumbai. Fellows also engaged in extensive crit sessions led by Curatorial Mentor Shaleen Wadhwana throughout the residency.

On April 21 and 22, 2026, the Artist Fellows led a two-day series of workshops with 7/8th Grade students by schools run under the Somaiya Trust from Urban and Rural India from Maharashtra, Karnataka & Madhya Pradesh. Sessions ranged from Aakash Gulzar's cyanotype printing and long-exposure photography and Sahil Kumar's experimental charcoal drawing with extended body tools, to Jit Natta's zine-making around Orwell's Animal Farm, Ejum Riba's flipbook animation, Farhin Afza's collective stitched tapestry on home and belonging, Sudip Jana's mat-stick paper-making, and Priyanka Sil's "Image Detectives”.

On Sunday, April 12, 2026, India Art Fair along with Young Collector’s Programme hosted a special activation of IMMERSE. Led by Umah Jacob and the IAF team, the day invited guests to experience the residency in person, offering a closer look at the ideas and processes shaping a new generation of artists in India. The visit began with a walkthrough of the exhibition led by the Curatorial Fellows, continued through a series of open studios with the Artist Fellows where visitors encountered works in progress, material explorations, and the evolving directions of each artist's practice and concluded with lunch and aamras under a beautiful ~100 year old American Mahogany tree at the Somaiya Vidyavihar Campus.

The Fellows attended a walkthrough of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) with Clare Lilley, an artist interaction with Heiner Goebbels at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, and Art Night Thursday in Colaba. On campus, Fellows participated in a Mango Stationery Group session alongside Open Studios across multiple weekends. Off-campus visits included a conversation with Hena Kapadia and Rah Naqvi at Tarq. The Fellows also enjoyed swimming training sessions hosted by the Somaiya Sports Academy at Somaiya Vidyavihar University.