Tara Lasrado in Shantiniketan and Bangladesh

Tara Lasrado is an independent curator and producer, currently working for the Crowther Lab, ETH Zürich, an interdisciplinary research group developing a fundamental and holistic understanding of global-scale ecology in order to understand and address climate change. As part of her research trip she will be participating in “Under the Mango Tree” in Shantiniketan, a self-organised gathering of unlearning taking place at Kala Bhavana and which focuses on land-based learning, rural and performance practices that address our relationship to the individual and collective body.

“I am interested in what role art, culture and pedagogy play in addressing and mitigating the changing climate. These insights are fruitful for my work at the Crowther Lab where we aim to establish new projects and collaborations at the intersection of climate science and contemporary art,” says Lasrado, adding “I want to explore the alternative pedagogies which have thrived in this region thanks to Rabindranath Tagore and his vision of a global village and communal learning – both which have radically transformed the notion of a curriculum for the arts”.

Following her trip to Shantiniketan, she will visit the Dhaka Art Summit and meet with artists and collectives around Bangladesh.

cover image: Under the Mango Tree, Shantiniketan 2020. (c) Bobby Sayers