CHENNAI: What happens when artists are given the freedom to create without boundaries, across form, language and lived experience? Art Unfettered, presented by Sumanasa Foundation, brings together a compelling line-up of artists whose work emerges from that very space of risk, reflection and exploration. The festival will be held over two evenings, April 12 and 13, at the M.S. Subbulakshmi Auditorium, Asian College of Journalism.
Art Unfettered is the outcome of a year-long grant initiative by Sumanasa Foundation that supported artists in developing bold, original and boundary-pushing work. Selected artists were given the space, resources, and mentorship to experiment, take risks, and bring new ideas to life.
Seetha Lakshmi, currently pursuing a PhD in Social Work and Mental Health at Pondicherry University, will be performing a solo theatre piece titled ‘Kathakali’ on April 12, from 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm. The performance explores intimate and expansive conversations on love, between the self and the world. “I have been working on mental health and lived experiences, and I personally tap into tools of art and expressive practices as a way to heal. That’s where my theatre journey began about eight years ago, as a form of expressive art. Over the last four to five years, I have actively engaged with movement and expressive arts, both personally and within communities. ‘Kathakali’ is inspired by writer, theatre practitioner Du Saraswati’s Kannada play ‘Santhimmi’s Love Purana’. We have re-adapted it into Tamil, but it is also shaped by my own questions about how love exists in our lives, relationships and movements. It is a reflection of myself and the community that has helped me materialise this work,” says Seethalakshmi.
On April 13, from 6.30 pm to 7.15 pm, artist-potter Rini Alphonsa Joseph will be in conversation with Saranraj on visual art. Rini will be presenting a compilation of works based on the theme of belonging, titled Pakshikoodu (bird’s nest), a powerful clay-based body of work reflecting on caste, displacement and generational trauma. “I am exploring how identity, especially within caste discourse and systemic hierarchies, can alienate you from society. I was born in Kerala and grew up in Bengaluru. My mother comes from an Adivasi background and my father from a fishing community. In both places, I grew up displaced from a specific sense of community. There was a lot of prejudice while growing up and I often felt out of place. Within my family too, there was generational trauma linked to caste and displacement. A lot of my work reflects how this becomes a core part of identity,” says Rini.
Growing up in a Brahmin neighbourhood, being ostracised in conservative, upper-caste schools and later being exoticised within an urban ecosystem that is largely upper-caste Hindu has made me feel like an eternal outsider. These experiences of isolation find their way into my work,” she adds.
At the same time, her work also speaks about transformation, perseverance and generational strength. “The process of ceramics: firing, shaping, drying feels deeply connected to transformation. Through my art, I try to unearth forgotten pasts while imagining a hybrid, indigenous future. My work is deeply influenced by anti-caste movements and literature, which have shaped my vision and creative practice.”
A visual artist from Suri, West Bengal, Arindam Manna has been curating a multidisciplinary visual project documenting the vanishing forests of his hometown. He will be in conversation with Aishwarya Arumbakkam on April 12, speaking about visual art and photography. “I am looking at Suri from multiple angles: how the structure of the city is changing, how forest areas are shrinking. This project tries to trace these fragile landscapes as they disappear under urban expansion and ecological decline. Through diaries, sketches, paintings, photographs and video, I am recording the atmosphere of change and the silence left behind. It is both a memory of what is disappearing and a call to recognise and honour of what remains,” shares Arindam.
As part of the Sumanasa Grants project, Shehzor has collaborated with her band Inshallah Babes on composing and recording an experimental punk album featuring 11 tracks. Drawing from Sufi poetry, queer and anti-caste literature, and revolutionary lok geet, the band will present a selection of songs from their upcoming album on April 13.
On April 12, Nicky Chandam will present Unfolding: a free verse movement, a movement and poetry-based theatre performance. The piece explores the emotional landscapes of women born, raised, and living in conflict zones. Speaking about the initiative, TM Krishna, one of the trustees of Sumanasa Foundation, says that Art Unfettered 2026 marks its second edition. “The idea behind this project is to give artists the freedom to create beyond boundaries and form and to speak in the language they choose, about the issues they care about. It is also about connecting their work to larger social and cultural realities that they witness and experience. We believe that opportunities like these often reach those in cities or those with certain privileges,” he says.
He adds that the foundation has consciously worked towards making the grant process more accessible. “We ensure that people from smaller towns and villages, and those who speak languages other than English, can apply. We even allow applications through voice notes or videos instead of written proposals. It could be a project they are already working on or something entirely new. We want to give young artists, especially from across the social spectrum, the opportunity to create work that is meaningful, contemporary and relevant, work that can move society in a more thoughtful and reflective direction, where critical thinking becomes an important part of the process.”