What happens to our collective memory when our cultural artifacts no longer stand where they used to?

Join us for an engaging online panel discussion led by artist Shaurya Kumar and featuring an international researchers, scholars, and cultural heritage enthusiasts as they share their latest efforts to identify stolen idols and sculptures from South Asia. The panel will be in conversation with South Asia Institute’s current main floor exhibition, “Living Without the Gods”, and explore innovative strategies in provenance research and highlight collaborative efforts with institutions and governments aimed at repatriating these important cultural artifacts to their countries of origin. Don’t miss this vital conversation at the intersection of art, history, and justice.

Shaurya Kumar is an artist and professor at School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His solo exhibition "Living Without the Gods" at South Asia Insitute investigates how human societies construct meaning and identity in the absence of monuments and objects that once anchored their cultures.

Vijar Kumar is the author of “The Idol Thief” and the founder of India Pride Project, a social media initiative that is combatting the rampant looting of Indian art treasures through supporting tracking down high profile trafficed artefacts and working closely with various pan global organizations in assisting restitution effors.

Roshan Mishra is one of the founding members of the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign (NHRC), the first non-governmental organization registered in Nepal dedicated to retrieving Nepali cultural artifacts, antiquities, and heritage items that have been lost, stolen, or taken abroad.