Ambika Trasi’s work examines how coloniality and other systems of power are encoded into objects, sites, products, flora, fauna, and interpersonal relationships. She is interested in how the circulation of cultural material shifts and destabilizes power dynamics. She assembles installations out of her own sculptures, paintings, and collected detritus— personal, found, and archival materials, images, and footage— and uses sounding and performance as modes of intervention. In these spaces, affect gives way to speculation, rupture, kinship and collective reflection, wherein persistent hegemonies can be upended and new possibilities can emerge.
Trasi recently exhibited her work at Practice Gallery and Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, and Heroes Gallery, New York. She has presented performances and screenings at Twelve Gates Arts, Philadelphia; Asia Art Archive in America, Brooklyn; Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; and HANGAR - Centro de Investigação Artística, Lisbon. Alongside her art practice, Trasi has worked as an arts organizer, curator, and writer for over 13 years, contributing her labor to various collaborative platforms, artist collectives, and major arts institutions. She earned a B.F.A. from New York University in 2010 and is enrolled in the M.F.A. program at the University of Pennsylvania.
Contact: ambika.trasi@gmail.com
____________________________________________________________________________________
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2026
M.F.A., the University of Pennsylvania, expected 2026; Stuart Egnal Scholarship Award for outstanding performance in any medium; Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship Nominee
2012
Coursework towards Certificate in Arts Management, New York University, 2012
2010
B.F.A., Studio Art, concentration in printmaking; minor in South Asian Studies, New York University, 2010; Dean’s List; Founders' Day Award
GROUP EXHIBITIONS, SCREENINGS, PERFORMANCES
2026
Reliquary, exhibition, Practice Gallery, Philadelphia, Feb 6–Mar 1
They’re Not All Winners (But They’ll All Taste Great), performance for Out of the Dark Performance Festival, the University of Pennsylvania, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Feb 7 and 21
2024
12Gates & PAAFF's Contemporary Video Art Exhibition 2024, screening, Twelve Gates Arts Gallery in collaboration with the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, November 2
Dawn Chorus, sound exhibition and published compilation, PM BOOKS
2023
The Soul of the White Ant II, lecture-performance for Tracing Histories, Asia Art Archive in America, Brooklyn, July 19
2022
Eco/Systems, exhibition, Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, March 5–July 31
Shanta Rao and the Tiger, lecture-performance, IATP Symposium, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, May 13
Gnaw, exhibition, Heroes Gallery, New York, February 26–March 10
Shanta Rao and the Tiger, lecture-performance, College Art Association Conference 2022, Chicago, February 19
2018
NYU Art Alumni Show, exhibition, curated by Chrissie Iles, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art, Gallery One, 80 Washington Square East New York, NY, October 26–November 4
2017
The Soul of the White Ant, lecture-performance, presented by 1010 Residencyat Bushwick Open Studios, Brooklyn, September 24
The Soul of the White Ant, lecture-performance, HANGAR - Centro de Investigação Artística, Lisbon, March 24
Remix Rememory, exhibition, No Longer Empty Curatorial Lab, Jamaica Colosseum, Queens, December 3–18
2016
Everyone In Their Own Way, exhibition, Arts Guild of New Jersey, Rahway, NJ, March 20–April 14
Patterns of Interaction II, screening, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, Milwaukee, April 30
2014
Patterns of Interaction I In Focus: An Afternoon of Film and Video, screening, the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective, New York, NY, December 14
PUBLIC PROGRAMS, LECTURES, TALKS
2024
An Afternoon Dedicated to Power / Play, moderated by curator Ambika Trasi and featured artists Sophia Balagamwala and Noormah Jamal, Twelve Gates Arts Gallery, May 11
2023
Artist talk with Abir Karmakar, moderator, Aicon Contemporary, New York, November 2
Artist talk with Maya Varadaraj, moderator, Aicon Contemporary, New York, August 3
2022
IATP Symposium, panelist, moderated by Meleko Mokgosi and Cassandra Guan, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, May 13
Embodied Dualities, moderator, panel discussion with Sarika Goulatia, Rit Premnath, and Kaveri Raina, organized by the National Indo American Museum, April 10
Beyond In/Visibility: the Politics of Asian American Representation in American Art, panelist, College Art Association Conference 2022, Chicago (virtual), February 19
2021
Ask a Curator: Jennifer Packer: The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing, Whitney Museum of American Art, December 14
Moderator, Ask a Curator: Dawoud Bey: An American Project, Whitney Museum of American Art, May 6
Panelist, Pratt > FORWARD: Artists Creating Opportunities for Artists & Sustaining your Practice, Pratt Institute, New York, artist / panelist with Nina Chanel Abney, Derrick Adams, Titus Kaphar, Jane South and Mickelene Thomas, April 1
Panelist, Curators in Conversation: Christopher Y. Lew and Ambika Trasi, IFA Contemporary Asia, The Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, March 22
Lecturer, Lecture by Ambika Trasi: Behind the (Art) Scene Series, SUNY Purchase School of Art and Design, March 10
2020
Panelist, Ask a Curator: Salman Toor: How Will I Know, Whitney Museum of American Art, February 4
Moderator, Salman Toor in conversation with Chitra Ganesh, November 16, 2020
Organizer / Moderator, On Place as Palimpsest: Zalika Azim and Maya Jeffereis in Conversation with Ambika Trasi, Tulsa Artist Fellowship Institute, organizer and moderator, August 28
Moderator, Artist Talk and Q&A with Nirmal Raja: On “Feeble Barriers” and “The Wall Within,” South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC), August 4
Moderator, In conversation with Umber Majeed and Ambika Trasi, Twelve Gates Art, Philadelphia, May 19
Lecturer, Who is seen vs. unseen?: Race and Gender Relations within Institutions and Museum Spaces, Studio Art Practice MFA Program, School of Visual Arts, New York, July 20
Lecturer, On Curating How Will I Know, FIT, History of Art Department, State University of New York, New York, April 1
2019
Presenter/Panelist, All Together Now: Artists' Collectives Push and Pull, College Art Association (CAA) Conference 2019, New York, February 16
2018
Panelist, Stories from Asian Diaspora: Community Organizers & Activists, NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, February 15
2017
Panelist, Studies Project: Diasporic Conventions, Movement Research Festival, Abrons Arts Center, New York, November 29
2014
Panelist, Patterns of Interaction / In Focus: An Afternoon of Film and Video, Screening and Q&A, the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC), December 14
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2024
“Sangram Majumdar: Choreographed Gestures” essay for the exhibition catalogue, somewhere elsewhere: Sangram Majumdar, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke and Jak Printers, Mumbai
2023
“Abir Karmakar’s Invisible Eye,” curatorial essay for the exhibition catalogue, Nightjar, Aicon Contemporary, New York
“Dear Maya: An Epistolary Curatorial Essay,” curatorial essay for the exhibition catalogue, Maya Varadaraj: No Feeling is Final, Aicon Contemporary, New York
“A Scream, A Growl,” Artist Pages published in Asian Diasporic Visual Cultures and the Americas journal, Volume 8: Issue 1-2 (May 2023): Imagining an Interval: Towards a Potential Asian and Diasporic American Art History(ies), Edited by Grace Yasumura and Z. Serena Qiu
Artist entry for Alex Anderson in Clay Pop, published by Rizzoli New York, edited by Alia Dahl
2022
“Alex Anderson and Michael Stamm,” press release, Deli Gallery, New York
2020
“The Persistent Colonial Gaze: Tipu’s Tiger, Then and Now,” Arcade Project
“The Self as Cipher: Salman Toor’s Narrative Paintings,” curatorial essay for Salman Toor: How Will I Know, Whitney Museum of American Art
2017
“20 Years of the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective,” Archival Alchemy exhibition catalogue, the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective
2016
“Curatorial Narrative, FIELD MEETING Take 4: Thinking Practice,”IBRAAZ Journal for Contemporary Visual Culture in North Africa and the Middle East
“Introduction to Welcome to what we took from is the state,” exhibition catalogue essay, the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective
SELECTED PRESS
2024
South Asian childhood seen through a lens of metaphor and play, in ‘Power/Play’ at Twelve Gates Arts, review by Vriddhi Vinay, Artblog, Philadelphia, May 13
2022
Jennifer Packer Shows Us the Responsibility of Seeing, by Seph Rodney, Hyperallergic, February 8
2022
Salman Toor: From Pakistan with Love,interview with Salman Toor by David Molesky, Juxtapoz Magazine, Winter Issue
Artists Raise $85K for Relief in Flood-Stricken Pakistan, by Valentina Di Liscia, Hyperallergic, October 3
How Salman Toor Left the Old Masters Behind, artist profile by Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker, August 1
2021
Best of 2021: Our Top 10 New York City Art Shows, by Debra Brehmer, Hyperallergic, December 7
Curating South Asian Voices With Care, interview with the South Asian Institute, Chicago, April
Magical and visceral, 12 Gates Arts embraces ‘A Space for Monsters,’ review by Corey Qureshi, Artblog, Philadelphia, March 5
Salman Toor at the Whitney, review by Karen Wilkin, The New Criterion, March
Salman Toor’s ‘How Will I Know’ Exhibition At Whitney Museum Is A Homecoming For The ‘Other’, feature by Nahal Amouzadeh, WNET: All Arts, February 23
Painting Here And Now, review by Marina Molarsky-Beck, Texte Zur Kunst, Jan. 22
Pakistani Artist Salman Toor's Success Was a Surprise, profile by Cody Delistraty, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 16
2020
Salman Toor, a Painter at Home in Two Worlds, review by Roberta Smith, The New York Times, Dec. 23
Salman Toor's Visual Autofiction, exhibition review by Cleo Roberts, Ocula, December 22
Salman Toor’s “How Will I Know”, review by Murtaza Vali, e-flux Criticism, December 4
Salman Toor’s Dreamy Scenes Imagine the Queer, South Asian Everyday, by Isabel Ling, Hyperallergic, December 1
Cosmopolitan Other: Salman Toor, review by David Everitt Howe, Mousse Magazine, June 30
Goings On About Town: Salman Toor, essay review by Johanna Fateman, New Yorker, July 6 & 13
Three online exhibitions honouring Pride Month, feature by Gabriella Angeleti, José da Silva and Gareth Harris, The Art Newspaper, June 26
Two Artists, Two Views of the Human Figure, by Ted Loos, The New York Times, March 11
2019
Best of 2019: Our Top NYC Art Shows, by Dessane Lopez Cassell, Hyperallergic, December 10
RESIDENCIES, ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIP / RESEARCH
2026
Sachs Professor Research Assistant for Sondra Perry, Keith L. and Katherine S. Sachs Visiting Professor in the Department of Fine Arts, 2025-2026, The University of Pennsylvania
2025
Participant, “Innovative Rural-Scape",” SEU-Penn Summer School, Southeast University, School of Architecture, and The University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design, Nanjing, China, May 22-June 6
Sachs Professor Research Fellow for Paul Pfeiffer, Keith L. and Katherine S. Sachs Visiting Professor in the Department of Fine Arts, 2024-2025, The University of Pennsylvania
2022
Student, Research-Based Practice for Creative Writers, facilitated by An Duplan
2021-2022
Participant, Interdisciplinary Art and Theory Program, New York, Session: Differencing Art, facilitated by Meleko Mokgosi, Anna Stothart, Anthea Behm, and Miranda Samuels
2021
Student, Black Arts Movement School Modality,Session I: Focus on Chicago, facilitated by Romi Crawford, Ekalan Hou, Kelly Lloyd, Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, Fred Moten, and Stefano Harney
2018
Participant, Leadership Camp, Asia Art Archive in America, Brooklyn, facilitated by Christopher K. Ho and Jane DeBevoise
2017
Artist-in-Residence, HANGAR- Centro de Investigação Artística, Lisbon
2016–2017
Artist-in-Residence, 1010 Residency, New York
2013–2014
Artist-in-Residence, Gallery Aferro, Newark
CURATORIAL
2024
Curator, Power / Play, Twelve Gates Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, March 15–May 18
2023
Curator, Nightjar: Abir Karmakar, Aicon Contemporary, New York, November 2–December 2
Curator, Maya Varadaraj: No Feeling is Final, Aicon Contemporary, New York, August 3–September 9
2021
Curator, A Space for Monsters, Twelve Gates Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, February 5–April 11,
Co-curator, Salman Toor: How Will I Know, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 13, 2020–April 4, 2021
2022
Curatorial Assistant, Jennifer Packer: The Eye Is Not SatisfiedWith Seeing, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 30, 2021–April 17
Curatorial Assistant, Making Knowing: Craft in Art, 1950–2019, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 22, 2019–February 20
2021
Curatorial Assistant, Dawoud Bey: An American Project, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 17–October 3
2020
Curatorial Assistant, Pope.L: Choir, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 10, 2019–March 8
2019
Curatorial Assistant, Kevin Beasley: A view of a landscape, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, December 15, 2018–March 10
2018
Curatorial Assistant, Eckhaus Latta: Possessed, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, August 3–October 8
2017
Exhibition Manager, Archival Alchemy, Abrons Arts Center at the Henry Street Settlement, New York, organized by the South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective, April 6–May 10
2016
Curatorial Assistant, FIELD MEETING Take 4: Thinking Practice, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Asia Society Museum, New York, organized by Asia Contemporary Art Week, November 11–12
2016
Exhibition Manager, welcome to what we took from is the state, Queens Museum, Queens, organized by the South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective, March 12, 2016 – April 2
2015
Curatorial Assistant, FIELD MEETING Take 3: Thinking Performance, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hunter College Art Galleries, and Performa Hub, New York, organized by Asia Contemporary Art Week (ACAW), October 31–November 2
Curatorial Assistant, Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, co-organized by Asia Contemporary Art Week, October 30–November 8
Curatorial Assistant, THINKING CURRENTS, Seattle Art Fair, Seattle, July 30–August 2
Co-curator, FIELD MEETING Take 2: An Afterthought, Hosted by My Art Guides, Venice Meeting Point at the Arsennale, Navy Officer’s Club, a collateral event during the 56th Venice Biennale, Venice, May 8
2014
Curatorial Assistant, FIELD MEETING Take 1: Critical of the Future, Asia Society Museum, New York, organized by Asia Contemporary Art Week, October 26–27
Curatorial Assistant, Arahmaiani: Fertility of the Mind, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, January 9–February 22
RELEVANT PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
2022–2023
Studio Manager, Josh Kline Studio, New York
2017–2022
Curatorial Assistant, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
2013–2017
Managing Director and Curatorial Assistant, Asia Contemporary Art Week, New York
ADDITIONAL SERVICE
Ongoing
Visiting critic / curator at artist residencies including NARS Foundation, Smack Mellon, ISPC residency, EFA Project Space, Hyde Park Art Center, and more
2024
Selection Panel Juror for 2024–26, Ground Floor Studio Residency Program, Brooklyn
2021
Selection Panel Juror for 2022–23 Fellows, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Tulsa
2021
Juror for Diasporic Rhizome exhibition, South Asia Institute, Chicago
2017–2019
Volunteer board member and exhibition manager, South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective, New York, 2015–2019; co-chair from 2015-2017
2018
Selection Panel Juror for 2019 Artists-in-Residents, NARS Foundation Residency, Brooklyn