NGMA Bengaluru hosts Sonal Khullar talk

NGMA Bengaluru has announced an upcoming public talk by Prof. Sonal Khullar, titled “Creative Circuits: Art, Craft, and Languages of Freedom,” extending the museum’s recent run of lectures and outreach programming in Bengaluru. The museum’s Bengaluru branch operates from Manikyavelu Mansion on Palace Road and is part of the National Gallery of Modern Art under India’s Ministry of Culture. (arth.sas.upenn.edu) The talk title is not new to Khullar’s public work. (arth.sas.upenn.edu) A University of Pennsylvania event page and a YouTube listing for a recent lecture under the same name describe the presentation as a discussion of “creative experiments across Santiniketan, Delhi, Bombay and Baroda” and of the ideas of artist K.G. (ngmaindia.gov.in) Subramanyan. ### Who is Sonal Khullar, and why is NGMA Bengaluru bringing her in? Sonal Khullar is W. Norman Brown Associate Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, according to her faculty profile. Her research focuses on the art of South Asia from the eighteenth century onward and draws on anthropology, feminist theory and postcolonial studies. (ngmaindia.gov.in) Khullar’s first book, *Worldly Affiliations: Artistic Practice, National Identity and Modernism in India, 1930-1990*, examined the careers of four artists including K.G. Subramanyan, the Penn profile says. That makes the announced talk’s emphasis on art, craft and freedom legible within her longer scholarly work on modernism, nationalism and artistic exchange in India. (arth.sas.upenn.edu) ### What does the talk itself appear to cover? The title “Creative Circuits: Art, Craft, and Languages of Freedom” has already been used for a public lecture by Khullar this year. The University of Pennsylvania event page says that version of the talk traced experiments across Santiniketan, Delhi, Bombay and Baroda and explored Subramanyan’s ideas. (arth.sas.upenn.edu) A YouTube listing for a lecture under the same title uses nearly identical framing and spells out the same geographic arc. That suggests the NGMA Bengaluru event is likely to draw on Khullar’s ongoing research into modern Indian art, craft traditions and post-Independence artistic thought, though the museum had not publicly posted a full event note in the material reviewed. (arth.sas.upenn.edu) ### How does this fit into NGMA Bengaluru’s current programming? NGMA Bengaluru has continued to run public talks, performances and educational activities through 2026. The museum’s site lists recent auditorium events and activities, including an August 1 panel discussion and an August 20 program at the Bengaluru campus. (arth.sas.upenn.edu) The museum has also been recruiting museum educators for an exhibition engagement period running from August 20 to September 20, 2026, with responsibilities that include outreach programs, workshops for children and guided walks for school and college groups. That posting places the Khullar lecture within a broader institutional push around public-facing education. (youtube.com) ### Where would visitors look for details? NGMA Bengaluru lists its address as 49, Manekyavelu Mansion, Bengaluru 560052, and provides event information through its official website and social channels. The museum says it is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on weekends from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and is closed on Mondays and national holidays. (ngmaindia.gov.in) The museum’s YouTube channel regularly carries recorded lectures, artist conversations and workshops, while its website maintains calendar, activities and current-events pages. Those are the most likely places for timing, access and any registration details tied to Khullar’s appearance. (ngmaindia.gov.in) ### What comes next for this event? As of September 3, NGMA Bengaluru had announced the Sonal Khullar talk but the material reviewed did not show a full standalone event page with date-and-time details. Visitors and students following the program would need to monitor NGMA Bengaluru’s official website, YouTube channel and social posts for the final schedule and access information. (ngmaindia.gov.in 1) (ngmaindia.gov.in 2) (youtube.com)