Our Team
Harsha Vinay
Founder Director
Former Director of the Alice Boner Institute (ABI) in Varanasi, Harsha has also worked at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bangalore, as assistant curator in-charge of exhibitions, programmes and outreach. He was on the curatorial team of the Indian Council For Cultural Relations sponsored The Body in Indian Art and Thought, a landmark exhibition held at the Bozar galleries, Bruxelles 2013.
Aditya Bikkani
Former Director
An entrepreneur with experience in the IT sector, Aditya’s work provides content conversion services in the digital publishing world. He is involved in the ed-tech space, aiming to provide equitable education for everyone, including people with disabilities.
Anoop Sharma
Programming and Admin Head, Varanasi
Anoop has a keen interest in the languages and holds post graduate degrees in Chinese Language and Literature, and Hindi. He taught at the college level for several years. Proficient in Japanese, Anoop was formerly the Deputy Project Coordinator of the Kashi-Kyoto Project.
Our Advisors
Johannes Beltz
Deputy Director, Rietberg Museum
Senior Curator of Indian and South East Asian Art at the Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Johannes Beltz’s areas of interest are the interactions of art, religion and culture in ancient as well as contemporary societies. He curated several exhibitions, including Alice from Switzerland.
Leela Samson
Bharatanatyam dancer
Former Director of the Kalakshetra, Leela Samson was also chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). She is a choreographer, instructor, writer, and now actor.
Sudhakar Rao
Former Chairman, Advisory committee of NGMA-Bangalore
In his time as an officer of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Sudhakar Rao held posts in several state and national ministries. Former Chief Secretary of Karnataka, he also served as former chairperson of the advisory committee of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bangalore.
Joyoti Roy
Strategy and Marketing, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai
With an interest in the social and civic role of cultural organizations, Joyoti Roy believes that arts institutions have the key responsibility to shape and reflect people's futures. GBI collaborated with Joyoti on the Alice From Switzerland exhibition at the National Museum, Delhi.
Naman Ahuja
Art Historian, Curator
A professor of art history at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, Naman Ahuja’s work focuses on Indian iconography and sculpture, temple architecture, and Sultanate-period painting. He is a renowned curator of landmark exhibitions and was also the editor of Marg, a leading journal on the arts in India.
Riccarda Chanda
Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations, New York
Riccarda Chanda is the Swiss Mission’s deputy permanent representative to the UN in New York, focusing on a broad range of international peace & security, international law, and geopolitical affairs. In a prior engagement, she served as the head of legal, human security and culture affairs at the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi, India.
Roshan Sahi
Artist
Roshan Sahi is the co-founder of Labyrinth Design Collaborative, a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary design lab. He is a craftsperson, designer and educator, and has taught ceramics, painting, woodwork, and land art in Europe and India.
Padma Sarangapani
Chairperson, Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS, Bangalore)
Specialising in education research, Prof. Sarangapani is an award winning teacher. She was recipient of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Fellowship in 2000 to research Childhood and Indigenous Knowledge Transmission.
Ruchira Ghose
Tagore National Fellow
Dr Ruchira Ghose was the chairperson of the Crafts Museum in New Delhi. She is also notable for her work with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage or Intach. Her career has been largely devoted to showcasing and promoting Indian handicrafts.