Mizoram University, in collaboration with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, successfully hosted microSPILLS – an Intensive Education Program Pop-up Exhibition at the University Auditorium from May 21 to May 23, 2025. The exhibition was open to the public from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and drew visitors from across the campus and the wider community.
microSPILLS featured a compelling collection of artworks and reflections by fifteen emerging practitioners, highlighting diverse narratives and concerns rooted in Northeast India. The exhibition was conceived as a pedagogic and artistic initiative, cultivating an aesthetics and ethics of care and affection through the concept of morom—a set of social relations and expressions of affection integral to the region’s cultural fabric. Through this lens, microSPILLS explored alternative perspectives on land, care, community, ecology, history, and resilience in response to contemporary socio-political challenges.
The participating artists developed their works during a two-month intensive education program, thoughtfully designed by curators Chinmoy Deori and Avik Debdas, with ongoing mentorship by Dr. Lalthlanchhuaha (Bazik Thlana), Assistant Professor in the Department of Education, Mizoram University, and Praveen Ashokan, scholar and educator. The program nurtured fifteen talented artists—eleven selected via open call and four from Mizoram University—further enriched by a series of guest lectures from renowned artists and scholars of the Northeast, including Lapdiang Syiem, Devadeep Gupta, Mridu Rai, Samudra Kajal Saikia, and the Aama Collective.
The artists featured in the exhibition were:
Abin Christy Titus, Aditya Kurup, Chungnungmuana Sailo, Honey Angel N Sangma, Jyotismriti Bordoloi, K Malsawmtluangi, Khulem Tennyson, Kshetrimayum Gopinath Singh, Lalrochami Ralte, Marba Kamki, Puja Lamgu, Reppandee Lepcha, Samudra Gogoi, Sushmita Sarkar, and VL Ruatpuii.
microSPILLS stands as a testament to the transformative power of artistic collaboration and educational mentorship, reimagining belonging and connection through the vibrant lens of Northeast India.