Outsiders springs from uncommon ground. All four participating artists come from different parts of the world — Lucknow, Los Angeles, Kerala and Switzerland. While they traverse diverse creative paths, these art makers do share something significant – they all followed their calling to move to Goa.

Goa is central to this conversation with its rich histories of outsider influence- of colonizers, missionaries, monks, hippies and more, each skein intertwining and leading to Goa as it is
now – continually absorbing new influences, shifting in its psycho-social-aesthetic landscape and yet strongly rooted in its own distinct cultural identity.

These artists arrive in Goa with stories of their own to tell, articulated in singular ways resulting in new conversations and exciting directions, their aesthetic adding to the indefinable ‘something’ that is in the Goan air.

Goa means different things to all of them, shaping their artistic journeys in distinct ways, sparking remarkable ideas, practices and processes.

To Ceramicist Thomas Louis, Goa means confluence and collaboration.
Visual Artist and Fine Arts Photographer Alok Johri came seeking solitude and to “meet the world in Goa.”
Installation Artist Sonny Singh was drawn by Goa’s atmosphere of openness and cultural diversity.
Similarly, Goa’s rich natural beauty continues to hold Swiss Artist and Designer Sonja Weder in thrall for over two decades now.

Each artist is technically ‘an outsider’ and yet deeply connected to Goa through their own art-making process and individual expression of the inside/outsider dynamic of this complex relationship.

There is much that emerges from their visuals – themes of belonging, of nostalgia, questions of what is indigenous and what is foreign. Finally, these works leave you with the realization that each one of us at some point is an outsider somewhere.