Third Text

Funded by Arts Council England and The Paul Mellon Centre for the Study of British Art, the symposium will examine the contested histories of Partitions in South Asia. With an emphasis on memory and the line, the map and the museum, artists, art historians and Partition scholars will address some of the key issues and debates surrounding the Partition of British India in 1947, the creation of India and Pakistan, and the subsequent Bangladeshi war of independence in 1972.

The symposium will take place on:

Wednesday 15 November 2017,

at The Bluecoat, Liverpool, 10am-5pm

attendance is Free, but places must be reserved; please see our Eventbrite site.

The line may refer to the Radcliffe Line, demarcating the newly formed boundaries of India and East and West Pakistan in 1947; it may also refer to the Line of Control, the contested borderline of present-day Kashmir; but it can also be thought of conceptually: as a de-colonial device; a fibrous linkage between pasts, present and future.

In 1947 drawing a line had devastating consequences for the displacement of millions leading to millions of deaths and lasting trauma. The legacies of such trauma are only just beginning to recognised. Through artist’s performances, presentations and papers, we will discuss such themes as gendered experiences of violence; silences in the archive; transgressions in the Borderzone; and the global legacies of British colonialism.

Although the events surrounding the Independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 will be central to discussions, we are keen to think more broadly and address other divisions, conflicts, or schisms affecting the region - including the violent conflicts and postcolonial legacies in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. 

As such, To Draw The Line will take a speculative approach to the concept of ‘partition’, and will probe the legacies of partitions in South Asia, and their formative impact on current British art and politics.

Confirmed speakers include: 

• Nilofar Akmut (artist)
• Mohini Chandra (artist)
• Alice Correia (University of Salford)
• Natasha Eaton (University College London)
• Zehra Jumabhoy (Courtauld Institute)
• Raisa Kabir (artist)
• Raminder Kaur Kahlon (University of Sussex)
• Naiza Khan (artist)
• Karin Zitzewitz (Michigan State University)

Thanks to funding from the Arts Council England and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, we are delighted that this symposium is FREE to attend and lunch and refreshments will be included. If you book a ticket but are subsequently unable to attend please cancel your registration so that we can monitor catering requirements. 

This symposium is scheduled to coincide with the launch of the special issue of the journal Third Text, titled To Draw the Line: Partitions, Dissonance, Art, co-edited by Natasha Eaton and Alice Correia. Contributors to the Special Issue include Saloni Mathur; Sonal Khullar; Kajri Jain; Karin Zitzewitz; Devika Singh; Sumathi Ramaswamy amongst others. Copies of the Third Text Special issue will be available to purchase at the symposium.