I'm Al-Qawi Nanavati, an artist from Mumbai, India, currently residing in Iowa City. I earned my BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2017. Upon receiving the Iowa Arts Fellowship and a full scholarship, I am pursuing an MFA in Printmaking at the University of Iowa, with a Minor in Papermaking and a certificate in Book Arts.

My work is influenced by meditation, repetition, and the aftermath of loss. I write letters to my late mother, Mumtaz, as a way to feel close and continue conversations. I address ideas of existence and serenity within my practice. In my everyday life, I believe in what I call "selfish selflessness," a way of living whereby one utilizes their strengths, whatever they may be, to better the lives of others and, in turn, lives a life of contentment and peace.

I co-founded Young Art Support, an online platform in India that promotes, exhibits, and sells the work of early career artists commission-free. I wanted to grow this idea, and together with Natasha, Siddharth, and Shaleen, we started Immerse. As an artist, I believe that if one is able to, they should try to create opportunities and platforms for their peers and help one another grow. We must not gate-keep opportunities. Immerse is just that—a space for artists to grow and contribute to the growth of others who come after them.

I am an art consultant and creative project manager who works with people to help them discover the art they love. In the public art sphere, I have worked alongside scenographer and curator Rajeev Sethi to establish the public art collection at the Hyatt Regency, Chennai and installed work for the artist Shambhavi at the Kochi Muziris Biennale.

My interest in projects that cross over between art and design have seen me manage projects such as the refurbishing of the state hall at ‘Rashtrapati Bhavan’; the Presidential Palace in New Delhi and the restoration of the chandeliers at the durbar hall at the Palace of Baroda.

My recent work includes installations for the Mahindra Museum in Mumbai, the curation and execution of the public art collection at Six Senses Fort Barwara and the curation and execution of the public art installations for the G20 convention center - Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

I also consultant for the Singapore based digital art platform TheUpsideSpace that focuses on digital fine art from Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.

I founded Carpe Arte in 2017 as a platform to make contemporary art accessible to the general public. In 2020 #carpeartesupports helped over 200 independent artists find buyers for their work during the pandemic. It has also served as a blueprint for several other platforms such as Young Art Support to create newer avenues to support young artists and was the foundation from which the idea for the IMMERSE fellowship emerged.

Based in India, I have been active in the fields of Art and Design since 2005. With a background of a BFA in Fine Art from the College of Art in Chandigarh, and a post-graduation in Design from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, I like approaching projects holistically - from identifying work, negotiating the details, logistics of moving and installing a work, to the documentation of it - making it an efficient and cohesive method of working.

I like bringing diverse audiences closer to South Asian Art Heritage and Culture, and I have always loved teaching. Be it about history, about art, about the future, and my classrooms exist in traditional four walls of colleges and universities and across museums, galleries and heritage sites.

My curatorial practice explores meta-narratives in global history and artistic responses to contemporary social issues. My curated group exhibitions attempt to echo the same from, IMMERSE at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai (2022), FRIN/GE at Vadehra Art Gallery, Delhi (2021), to OSMOSIS at TARQ, Mumbai (2019). In 2022, I curated The Sindhu Project which explores the Indus Valley Civilisation as a collaboration between artists in South Asia and the USA. With the changing industrial norms due to the Pandemic, I also co-designed India's first virtual artist residency Fissure with the Pollinator Interdisciplinary Lab (2021). So far, I have worked with cultural institutions like the British Museum, London, National Museum, Delhi, and Chemould Prescott Road Gallery, Mumbai. I bring my range of diversity to co-founding the Immerse Fellowship and Residency which fosters artistic and curatorial growth in India. This is also a result of my independent endeavours like the co-founded The Chime Project (TCP) which creates cultural trails through music and history at the National Museum, Delhi, and The Cities of Dehli (CoD) which takes 16 different 'cities' of Delhi's past, present and future through educational walking tours.

I am academically trained in Art History (SOAS, London), Cultural Heritage Law (University of Geneva-UNESCO), Liberal Arts (Young India Fellowship, Ashoka University), Arts Appreciation(National Museum, Delhi), and History (Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University). As a Visiting Faculty at MIT Institute of Design, Pune, I teach Big History and Design Futures and I am the Humanities curriculum designer for their Innovation Programme.

My research on cultural repatriation been showcased at the Art and Antiquities Conference, in Mumbai, and in the India Perspectives Journal of the Ministry of External Affairs, India. Recently, my research was crucial in creating The Unfiltered History Tour by Vice World News UK and DentsuWebchutney at the British Museum, London, and it bagged 12 awards at the Cannes Lions Festival in France - the first time ever for India. I have just finished curating the 60th anniversary exhibition of gallery Chemould Prescott Road, researching through 15,000 archival items to create a comprehensive showcase of the Indian Art Movement with over 150 Contemporary and Modern Indian Artists.

“From my earliest memories, my grandfather, Dr. Shantilal Karamshi Somaiya, stood as a pillar of support for artisans and creatives nationwide. His profound influence exposed me to diverse art forms, from the intricate work of Kashmiri carpet weavers to the vibrancy of pichwai painters and sophistication of modern Chola bronze sculptors, etc. All my life I have been surrounded by the art he collected. Through this exposure, I learnt to be sensitive towards the rich tapestry of art that exists in our country.

Ever since I moved back from Chicago/ Milan in 2013 in memory of my grandfather I have been trying to support art/ artists in India in any small way I can. But we wanted to go beyond and make a more profound impact, especially in empowering young independent artists. Hence, we at SVU, have undertaken IMMERSE—an endeavor to empower and provide a robust platform for emerging talents. Our ultimate goal is to bring about a transformation in the lives of these budding artists—both in critical acclaim and commercial success. Through our educational approach, we aim to ignite a spark that fuels an enduring artistic growth even further.”

Siddharth Somaiya holds a BFA in Art & Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was honored as one of the top few in his graduating class to receive a Merit Scholarship. Additionally, he earned a Post-graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art from the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum.

He is also an Entrepreneur & Angel Investor. Prominent investment areas are Edu-Tech, Fin-Tech, Health-Tech and has invested seed cheques in Start-Ups like Pee-Safe, Pocketly & Beardo.

He sits on Investment Committee with the Incubator Seed Management Committee under Govt. of India Start Up India Seed Fund Scheme. And Investment Committee for RIIDL, Somaiya Vidyavihar for National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovation Fund under the Govt. of India. He is Co-Chairman of the Start-Ups and Innovation Committee at the Indian Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IMC).

He is also on the Academic Council of Somaiya School of Design and Governing Council for Somaiya Sports Academy. All of these institutions are under Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Somaiya Trust.