Mrs. Mehta is an art historian, conservationist, writer, curator and designer who has successfully pioneered the revival and restoration of several cultural sites in Mumbai. She has conceptualized, curated, designed and implemented the restoration and revitalization of the Museum and the ongoing exhibitions and outreach programmes. The Museum won UNESCO’s 2005 Asia Pacific ‘Award of Excellence’. The Museum has been nominated for several awards for its outstanding work. Mrs. Mehta is the Academic Chair of the Museum’s Diploma on Modern and Contemporary Art History and Curatorial Studies that is in its 8th year. She has written and edited several books.

Mrs. Mehta is a member of International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and has served on several Indian museum boards and government committees for art and culture. She was the CII Chair for Culture in 2011 and presented an exhibition of Indian Art at Davos the same year. She was selected as a Mumbai Hero by Mumbai Mirror and has received several awards. Harvard University included her in a list of 25 women who have made an outstanding public contribution in India.

A.V. Ilango is an established, self-taught artist and sculptor from Bangalore. As he was brought up in a rural setting, Ilango uses these memories as inspirations that inform his artworks and influence his rich colour palette. His works depict Indian characters, culture, religion and rituals presented as part of everyday-life. Apart from human figures, the artist has been studying the most familiar of the Indian animals – the bull, the motif having been an integral part of primitive, folk and classical Indian art. The artworks are rendered with angular brush strokes that suggest an energy, thus reflecting the energy of the bulls.

A.V. Ilango has been teaching drawing and painting for more than twenty five years. It was an art class till three years ago. In October 2004, he launched Ilango’s Artspace at 62 3rd floor, Rd. Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600018.

This art space is not only his studio, but a place where he nurtures creativity in other minds, from little children to adults. The objective is the process of drawing and painting to express oneself in visual arts while enjoying the act of thinking and creating in an informal and personalized ambiance. Ilango says: “Art lets you be in the now.” He believes in the traditional guru-shishya pedagogy. The learning is customized, based on the aptitude, sensibility and passion of the aspirants. Ilango’s Artspace showcases the young artists who practice under his guidance in India and abroad.