In just over a decade, Khoj has managed to establish itself as a credible initiative for all ‘artists by artists’ efficiently dealing in public art. Some of the country’s most popular artists have been integral part of the whole process. Indeed, Khoj International Artists’ Association has provided art a new interactive nature using public projects and workshops.
Constant experimentation and sustained international exposure has been a major part of their strategy. The workshops have been known for their noteworthy public as well as performance art acts. This fruitful journey has been well captured in The Khoj Book. It takes a broader view of contemporary art practice in the country from 1997 to 2007.
The founder of the Triangle Arts Trust Robert Loder, assisted Khoj director Pooja Sood in finding a permanent address for the prospering group in Delhi in 2002. It has acted as a site for both emerging artists as well as emerging art. Illustrated with more than a thousand colored images of works, this 680-page book covers younger artists across India and some of foremost contemporaries. Nancy Adajania writes in her essay, entitled ‘Probing the Khojness of Khoj’:
“The advent of the Khoj International Artists’ Workshop in 1997, with the formation of a working group comprising six artists and a gallery director, is such a benchmark in the history of post-colonial Indian art. The achievement of the Khoj model is that it has transformed the lives and work of its practitioners. It has anticipated and provided for the consequences of the mobility that globalization has imparted to Indian artists in the post-colonial world.”The document traces the rapid evolution of the art organization through meticulous accounts of its various workshops. It has interviews of artists who have contributed to Khoj over a decade.
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