About

Aishwarya Arumbakkam (b.1988) is a multidisciplinary visual artist working across photography, filmmaking and drawing. An artist from Chennai, India she is currently pursuing an MFA in Studio Art at The University of Texas, Austin. Arumbakkam was honored as one of the ‘Ones to Watch’ by the British Journal of Photography in 2019. In 2020, she was awarded the Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited at various places including The South London Gallery (UK), Ishara Art Foundation (UAE), Ffotogallery (UK), and The Visual Arts Center (US). 



CV

Exhibitions

  • 2022, ka Dingiei, Peckham 24, The South London Gallery, UK
  • 2022, Connective Tissues: printed & published, The Visual Arts Center, Austin, USA
  • 2021, Static In The Air, Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai, UAE
  • 2021, Growing like a Tree, Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai, UAE
  • 2021, [Off] Limits, Chobi Mela International Festival of Photography, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • 2020, Mirror Drama, The Visual Arts Center, Austin, USA
  • 2019, Artists Unite!, Delhi, India
  • 2019, Catalyst, Jimei x Arles Photo Festival, Xiamen, China
  • 2019, Chennai Photo Biennale, Chennai, India
  • 2019, 2017, Angkor Photo Festival, Siem Reap, Cambodia
  • 2017, Egaro Photo Festival, Agartala, India
  • 2017, A Million Mutinies Later - India at 70, Nazar Foundation, Ffotogallery, Cardiff, UK
  • 2015, Embody, PIX Vol.9, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo
, Sri Lanka
  • 2015, BIND PhotoBook Library, Focus Photography Festival, Mumbai
, India
  • 2014, Embody, PIX Vol.9, Goethe-Institut, Kolkata
, India
  • 2014, Embody, PIX Vol.9, Goethe- Institut, Bangalore
, India
  • 2013, Mirror of the Open Road, The Wilding Festival, London, UK

Grants, Awards, Fellowships

  • 2022, Documentary photographer of the year, Student category, The Royal Photographic Society, London, UK
  • 2021 – 2022, University Graduate Continuing Fellowship, The University of Texas, Austin, USA
  • 2020, Photography and Social Justice Fellowship, Magnum Foundation, USA
  • 2019, Featured in ‘Ones to Watch 2019,’ British Journal of Photography, UK
  • 2019, The Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography, India
  • 2018, Tasveer Emerging Photographer of the year, TOTO Funds the Arts, India

Residencies, Workshops

  • 2020, 2019, Book Building Residency with Dayanita Singh, Goa, India
  • 2018, South Asia Incubator I, Photo Kathmandu, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • 2016, 12th Angkor Photo Workshops, Siem Reap, Cambodia
  • 2015, What About Art artist residency, Mumbai, India

Education

  • 2020 – Present, MFA in Studio Art, The University of Texas, Austin
  • 2015 – 2016, International Photography Program, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Dhaka
  • 2008, Student exchange programme, École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs, Paris
  • 2005 – 2009, Film & Video Communication Design, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

Scholarship

  • 2020, Russell Lee Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Photography, The University of Texas, Austin
  • 2008, ÉGIDE Scholarship, École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs, Paris


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