TAK Contemporary is a trio of art curators, of Indian origin based in Paris. Founded in 2023, the initiative aims to encourage and promote artists from the Indian subcontinent and its diaspora enhancing the visibility of Indian contemporary art in Europe. Simultaneously, it seeks to introduce international artists to India, fostering a vibrant cultural exchange.
Tak in Hindi means “until”, referring to a point in the trajectories of time and space. The initiative suggests a temporal meeting point for art on the vast map of time and geography. The Indian subcontinent showcases a progressive, diverse, and vibrant contemporary art scene. Its artistic landscape reflects a unique fusion, balancing the evolution of global art history while deeply anchoring its conceptual and visual foundations in Indian cultural heritage.
DAMINI KULKARNI
(b. Maharashtra, India) is an art curator, writer and cultural mediator based in Paris. Since completing her master's thesis at IESA Art & Culture (2023) in Paris, she has been passionate about bringing a four-pillar approach to sustainability—cultural, social, economic, and environmental—in rural India.
She began her career as a studio assistant at ZAGA Studio (Pune, 2018), then managed by Nachiket Prakash. Following internships at NFAI (Pune, 2019), TIFA Working Studios (Pune, 2019), she went on to pursue MBA in Contemporary Arts in Paris. Presently, she freelancers at GALLERIA CONTINUA/Le Marais and Boutique Mohanjeet. Alongside, she is also the correspondent of South Asia at Geometricae magazine.
ELIZABETH PRANITHA JOSEPH
(b. Kerala, India) is an art curator based in Paris, France. She envisions enhancing communities through artistic collaborations and interactions.
Her interest in art began with organizing events to promote local mosaic artists in Fort Kochi, Kerala. In 2022, she pursued it further by learning an MBA in Contemporary Arts at IESA art&culture, Paris. Elizabeth curated the exhibition Rivers and Roads with 11 Indian artists at AAIE Center for Contemporary Art, Rome, Italy. She later gained experience as a researcher at Carpenters Workshop Gallery.
Currently, she works as a gallery assistant at Galerie Carole Kvasnevski. As a freelancer, she actively participates in roles such as artist manager, artist liaison, and more while also co-founding TAK Contemporary.
SHUBHANKAR PR BHARTI
(b. Uttar Pradesh, India) is an artist, professor, and curator based in Paris, who explores societal constructs like class and caste, reflecting on identity, accessibility, and the spaces we inhabit.
Graduated in fine arts from Kala-Bhavana, Santiniketan, W.B. India, and École des Beaux-arts de Marseille, he has participated in group exhibitions across India and France.
With prior experience as an art professor at the College of Fine Art, Bengaluru, his expertise also extends to art conservation and exhibition management. It has led him to work with institutions such as LUMA Arles, INTACH-CKP and Collection Lambert.
He currently works as Director of Operations at 193 Gallery, Paris, and is co-founder of TAK Contemporary, promoting Indian art.