5 Questions with Tulika Ahuja: How this Art Curator brings Exhibitions to life

Curator Tulika Ahuja of Mama Magnet speaks about her curatorial practices, and how Web3 can be integrated with art shows

At S.E.A. Focus 2023, the anchor event of Singapore Art Week, the strength and potential of NFTs as an art medium will be on full display.

The Tezos exhibition will take visitors through an audio-visual journey of artworks by six leading Southeast Asian artists, Bjorn Calleja from the Philippines, CwndDien and the late Orkibal from Malaysia, Reza Hasni from Singapore, as well Ykha Amelz and Discokid909 from Indonesia.

Curated by Tulika Ahuja of Mama Magnet, the dedicated 55m² exhibition ‘Living System: An NFT Show’ will tie into ‘a world, anew’, the curatorial theme for S.E.A. Focus 2023

Today, we speak to Tulika to find out more about her work, and her inspirations when curating the exhibition.

Who is Tulika Ahuja?

Tulika Ahuja is an independent curator building participatory art exhibits on relatable topics. Her work is a dissection of our current times, inviting you to look at our relationship with society and the natural world in alternative ways. Recent exhibitions include Centre for Altered Togetherness (2020) and Inner Like The OutAR (2021) for which live digital otherworlds were created collaboratively. She previously worked with Kult Gallery (2016 - 2019) during which she curated DUNE, a sci-fi group show (2018).

In 2020, Tulika founded curatorial consultancy Mama Magnet, to actively facilitate inter-disciplinary engagements between artists and commissioning industry clients. Mama Magnet works with their network of artists, developers and cultural producers to strategize exhibitions, multimedia and visual art experiences playfully centered around developments in urban, and/or ecological conversations. She empowers artistic agency, while creating encounters for the community to navigate unconventional futures.

Could you share more about your curatorial practice?

I’m an independent curator and writer, building participatory exhibits on relatable topics. My work is a dissection of our current times, inviting audiences to look at our relationship with society and the natural world in alternative ways. Recent exhibitions include Centre for Altered Togetherness (2020), Inner Like The OutAR (2021) and Permission to Dream (2022) for which live digital otherworlds were created collaboratively.

Since 2020, Mama Magnet functions as an alias for curator Tulika Ahuja, facilitating whatever kind of work I do together with my network of artists - be it research, writing, exhibition-making, grant-writing, generating conversations, prototypes or parties. Mama Magnet strategizes multi-media and visual art experiences playfully centered around developments in urban, and/or ecological conversations. We empower artistic agency, while creating encounters for the community to navigate unconventional futures.

What do you find exciting about creating a Web3-centric exhibition?

I find the Web3 space exciting for storytelling and tapping on under-represented voices. I’m also excited by the potential it brings to streamline creative licensing, remuneration of creative labor and presentation of digital art. It’s doubly exciting that the space is still young, welcoming a lot of innovation and creator-centric ideas.

“A World Anew” is the curatorial theme for S.E.A. Focus 2023. Could you share how you conceptualized “Living System: An NFT Show” in response to and to synergise with the overarching theme?

This is a time of global transition and burgeoning mental and ecological instability. As we move forward into ‘A World Anew’, it’s important to do so with clarity and consciousness.

To further contextualize, the internet is buzzing with more activity than before, and we’ve seen our arts and events industry return with a bang in Singapore. But every activity is made better when performed with a rested mind. The exploration of ‘Living System’ speaks to this balance. It invites the viewer to pause and observe amongst artworks performing acts of self-maintenance. The medium of NFTs are actively looping to parallel life’s rhythmic pulses and continuous journeys. They also use visual languages that sway between human and humanoid, acknowledging our many existences.

Could you provide us with a glimpse into your curatorial process with regards to how you selected this group of talented and aesthetically diverse artists?

Each of the artists are storytellers and keen observers. Their diversity stems from their processes of art making, and grasp on visualizing life experiences. The purpose of my curation is to create continuity in between the ideas presented, and to fill the gaps with opportunities for audiences to immerse into their narrative worlds. It was also important for me to draw links back to the current status quo of paradigm shifts related to expanding cyberspace, working across multiple time zones, and concurrent existences in material and non-material worlds.

What kind of experience are you hoping to create for the viewer?

Firstly, I hope the viewer will feel our invitation to stay, observe and respond to the artworks – in the form of acknowledging whatever feelings that may arise. The experience is built to be welcoming, peppered with relatable quirks and imaginative otherworlds.

I hope to create space for personal and communal dialogue with ourselves and each other. How can systems of care manifest in each of us? What do we really need from each other? Can we decide on useful boundaries and coping mechanisms for ourselves? It will be a success if the viewer realizes these questions around activity and rest, because it would mean we’ve helped them pause and pull closer to formulating a system of living that works for them.