The South Asian Studies Program will begin its spring semester events with a talk by artist Aaron Sinift, Thursday February 28th, from 5:00 to 6:30 PM in Room 1117 University Capitol Centre (International Commons).

This event is generously co-sponsored by Grinnell College, the Center for the Book, the School of Art and Art History, and the Iowa Print Group. Chai and Indian snacks will be served.

Sinift will speak on “The Five Year Plan,” his collaboration with Gandhi Ashram spinning and weaving collectives in India and 26 artists from 7 countries to produce a collection of artworks printed on hand-spun khadi cloth. The project represents artwork as social architecture, bringing together artists, scholars, poets, rural villagers, and Gandhian activists, and uniting the efforts of hundreds of people with different ideas of art, economics, technology, and sustainable modes of production.

Aaron Sinift studied painting, printmaking, and South Asian studies at the UI and received an MFA in painting at Boston University. He has visited India seven times in the last 20 years and currently works at the Smithsonian Institution and American University.