The Indo American Arts Council and Dowd Gallery present the 6th annual 2009 traveling Exhibition

The Indo-American Arts Council, (IAAC) in collaboration with Dowd Gallery is proud to present "Erasing Borders". The exhibition explores the themes of cultural dislocation, memory, exile and spiritual inheritances implicit in the word; Diaspora.

"Quite a few of the artists--both abstract and figurative--describe their work (or the impetus behind it) in spiritual terms, and many of the works comment directly on environmental and political issues. Khalil Chishtee's figures are made out of plastic bags. Jagdish Prabhu has 'drawn' his figures in soot (carbon), the "much maligned but primal substance"... (Whose)..."fluidity and etherealness embody the ephemeral nature of existence." Pritika Chowdhry's installation titled "What the Body Remembers" is comprised of sculptures that "investigate the potential of the... fragmented body to invoke collective narratives of trauma" Vijay Kumar.

The Exhibition comprising of 28 contemporary artists, a mix of painting, drawing and prints, photographs, C-prints, photomontages and videos, sculpture and installation, explores and draws from the experiences of artists whose origins can be traced to the Indian subcontinent.

Cultural dislocation often produces unexpected and profound results; memory collides with exile, culture engages with adaptation to understand the powerful and often disturbing concepts of change and assimilation. The artists confront issues of sexuality, terror, disease and multiple identities to weave together existence in a globalized context while subject matter is often drawn from the country of origin, many of the aesthetic values and political concerns come from the artists' newfound situations. The result deserves a new "ism", a new journey to an old destination- an exploration of the political, cultural and social selves that inhabit all of us-in the present and the past.

The IAAC takes immense pleasure in exhibiting the works by 28 Artists listed below:

NIYETI CHADHA KANNAL, NANDINI CHIRIMAR, KHALIL CHISHTEE, NEIL CHOWDHURY, PRITIKA CHOWDHRY, ANJALI DESHMUKH, ANUJAN EZHIKODE, INDIRA FREITAS JOHNSON, ASHA GANPAT, INA KAUR, ADIL MANSURI, DIVYA MEHRA, SAMANTA MEHTA BATRA, INDRANI NAYAR-GALL, JAGDISH PRABHU, ANTONIO PURI, ALKA RAGHURAM, GAUTAM RAO, AMIN REHMAN, TARA SABHARWAL, PALLAVI SHARMA, PREET SRIVASTAVA, MUMTAZ HUSSAIN, REETA GIDWANI KARMARKAR, HARESH LALVANI, ALAKANANDA MUKERJI, VERU NARULA, PRINCE VARUGHESE THOMAS.

Opening Reception: MARCH 1ST at Dowd Gallery State University of New York College at Cortland.

Location: Dowd Fine Arts Center, Room 162 Cortland, New York 13045

Time: 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm

Exhibition dates: Feb 27 - April 30, 2009

There will be several events and programs related to the exhibition. The Dowd Gallery is open to the public with free admission. The 2009 Exhibition will travel to the Aicon Gallery, The Queens Museum and The Gallery at Penn. The Exhibition has also been invited to be part of NY Asia Week.

For the 2009 Exhibition Schedule/ Catalogue and further information, please visit www.iaac.us or contact:

Amina Ahmed, IAAC Director of Exhibitions at amina@iaac.us

Andrew Mount, Director Dowd Gallery Cortland SUNY at andrew.mount@cortland.edu

Our Special thanks to the Consulate General of India, Dowd Gallery NYSCA, DCA Aicon Gallery, Queens Museum of Art, Pennsylvania College of Technology, India Abroad and Rediff.com

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The Indo-American Arts Council is a 501 ©3 not-for-profit arts organization passionately dedicated to promoting, showcasing and building an awareness of South Asian artists in the performing arts, visual arts, literary arts and folk arts. For more information please visit www.iaac.us