Curious Collections

Adira Thekkuveettil is an artist, whose work investigates photography’s entanglements with contemporary socio-political consciousness, especially in an urban context. She draws from family histories, archives and her own practice as a photographer to explore the lines that seemingly separate fact from fiction. Adira was a finalist for the Serendipity-Arles Grant in Lens Based Practices in 2021. Currently, she is the Course Director of Aesthetics, Criticism and Theory at Jnanapravaha Mumbai. She lives between Bangalore and Trivandrum.

Shibu Narayan is the Head of Collections at MAP. An experienced leader in Cultural Heritage Management, during his twenty five years in this field, he managed the documentation of cultural heritage that spans ten centuries. Though he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Kerala University, his first job was in Cultural and Heritage Management with the Government of Kerala. This serendipitous career path ignited his passion for the arts, inspiring him to pursue a Master of Arts in History, as well as an MPhil in History from Annamalai University. A life long learner, Shibu has diligently worked on expanding his knowledge by gaining a Post Graduate Diploma in Archival Studies from the Cochin University of Science and Technology; training at the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology, New Delhi; and attending a plethora of workshops that have contributed vastly to his professional development.