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From the Founder’s Desk
A scientist who makes films. A filmmaker who writes books. An artist who built a global gallery.
This is a space where boundaries don't exist — much like the man behind it. Here, our founder, Niladri Sarker, shares his unfiltered thoughts on art, science, cinema, humanity, and everything in between.
Recent Stories
Nobody Told Me Fes Would Teach Me This.
Sleep-deprived, carsick, and tired to my bones—yet somehow, completely alive. That’s how I arrived in Fes after a long, exhausting drive from Marrakech via Casablanca, during my solo trip to Morocco in 2018. Fes felt less like a city and more like a place that had slipped out of medieval times. Its medina was a spider’s web of alleys where getting lost required no special talent. Every turn seemed to open into another mystery: stark walls, silhouetted figures, rooftops overlo
Niladri
9 hours ago1 min read
The Unexpected Relationship Between War And Art.
Picture this: You’re scrolling through your curated feed on your social media of choice. Posts pop up as you thumb through them: Advertisement about losing weight quickly. Videos of disproportionate human suffering. Post from that one friend who just got married and can’t stop talking about it. A woman — talking about how her child is starving. Advertisement about sleeping less but being more effective. Children in body bags. Advertisement. Human suffering. So on and so forth
Niladri
2 days ago2 min read
Lessons from NASA I couldn’t ignore.
Back in the early 2000s, I collaborated with NASA/JPL in analyzing the chemical components of Saturn’s moon, Titan. It was an exciting and uncertain time. I was more naïve than ever, bolder, and even perhaps more romantic. But what I learned then — rigor, documentation, accountability, integrity, and above all — truthfulness, lived in me when I built TERAVARNA. Assumptions are a dime a dozen in science, and more so in space research. Here, facts are few and far between, and s
Niladri
2 days ago2 min read
Nobody Told Me Fes Would Teach Me This.
Sleep-deprived, carsick, and tired to my bones—yet somehow, completely alive. That’s how I arrived in Fes after a long, exhausting drive from Marrakech via Casablanca, during my solo trip to Morocco in 2018. Fes felt less like a city and more like a place that had slipped out of medieval times. Its medina was a spider’s web of alleys where getting lost required no special talent. Every turn seemed to open into another mystery: stark walls, silhouetted figures, rooftops overlo
Niladri
9 hours ago1 min read
The Unexpected Relationship Between War And Art.
Picture this: You’re scrolling through your curated feed on your social media of choice. Posts pop up as you thumb through them: Advertisement about losing weight quickly. Videos of disproportionate human suffering. Post from that one friend who just got married and can’t stop talking about it. A woman — talking about how her child is starving. Advertisement about sleeping less but being more effective. Children in body bags. Advertisement. Human suffering. So on and so forth
Niladri
2 days ago2 min read
Lessons from NASA I couldn’t ignore.
Back in the early 2000s, I collaborated with NASA/JPL in analyzing the chemical components of Saturn’s moon, Titan. It was an exciting and uncertain time. I was more naïve than ever, bolder, and even perhaps more romantic. But what I learned then — rigor, documentation, accountability, integrity, and above all — truthfulness, lived in me when I built TERAVARNA. Assumptions are a dime a dozen in science, and more so in space research. Here, facts are few and far between, and s
Niladri
2 days ago2 min read
The one habit that changed everything in my art.
No one talks about this enough. The one habit that changed everything in my art was studying art history intentionally. This was something that started in childhood: being taught the difference between de Kooning and Kline, the period of Picasso’s life through paintings, and seeing how Dadaism shaped the Surrealist movement. I had a very enriching experience with art during my childhood, and my interest in art history only deepened with the years. Later, delving into Baroqu
Niladri
Jun 22 min read
Incomplete knowledge is extremely dangerous
Half knowledge can do full damage. Thanks to the internet and AI, everyone seems well-informed on everything. Who needs a doctor, right, when you can Google your symptoms and let the algorithm decide your medication? Wrong. While it is far easier in the digital age to find information, it is harder to be genuinely knowledgeable. Search engines can help you identify symptoms, but tailoring medication to your specific needs requires a human medical professional — at least fo
Niladri
Jun 22 min read
Why Artists Must Break Out of Creative and Skill Bubbles
Jack of all trades, master of none. But better than being master of one. Or so the saying goes. Is it really true, though? The Artemis II mission captured the hearts of people globally with steadfast commitment and bravery. But did you know the astronauts also received photography training? This was so that they could better capture the moon for scientists to see. And we get to enjoy the photos from home as well! Without the proper training on how to best utilize aperture and
Niladri
Jun 22 min read
The Rise of the “Experience Economy” in Art Galleries
With the modern rise of the “experience economy” seeping into every facet of our lives, it’s only logical that we can see the rise of it in art galleries as well. With the push for experiences to go along with services for clients, art galleries have also been adapting to meet these new needs. It can be argued that a more immersive experience leads to a heightened experience of the artwork. But not all of it without criticism. The Van Gogh Immersive Exhibition in LA was heavi
Niladri
Jun 22 min read
Why Handmade Art Matters?
I assumed we all agreed on this already. The most radical thing you can do in 2026 is make something imperfect by hand. Why Handmade Art Matters Now More Than Ever? In a world as volatile as 2026, the act of creating by hand offers something screens simply cannot — certainty. The tactile experience of handmade art triggers dopamine release, grounds you in the present moment, and forges a tangible bond between you and your creation. That intimacy offers a tangible sense of ach
Niladri
May 262 min read
Why Sustainability Is Becoming a Moral Responsibility for Galleries?
Historically, galleries have judged works they accept based on personal taste and cultural value. But as modern problems arise, modern solutions must also be considered: the question of environmental impact is one. Galleries around the world now have to factor in the added equation of considering the sustainability angle in their approach. It’s the logical “next evolution” of what it means to be a responsible gallery. Our environmental footprints as galleries, as artists, as
Niladri
May 261 min read
How to Handle Rejections?
Winning isn't the whole story. This is the part they don't show you. From an artist who has been outside the "winner's circle" — this is for every artist who feels they're not enough. A result doesn't define your work, or your worth. Every submission takes courage, and what's chosen reflects perspective, not value. The jury sees one version of your work; the world will see the rest. Many artists who aren't selected today will be selected tomorrow — by the right jury, the righ
Niladri
May 262 min read
Your Art Won’t Be For Everyone
I wish someone had said this to me when I was just starting as an artist. You can’t live a creative life and stay universally liked. Not all art is universally enjoyed; that is a rule of art. Meaningful art challenges norms, whether aesthetic, cultural, or political. Whenever an artist says something new, someone is bound to disagree. The tension that exists between the work and the view is a sign of originality being present in the work. Making work that everyone likes leads
Niladri
May 262 min read
Five Mistakes To Avoid If You Wish To Start A Company
Before you start a company, stop doing these things. Everyone is eager to tell you how to build a company. But, very few will tell you how they nearly didn’t. Failure, in that sense, is a far more honest teacher. To build something that lasts, you must be willing to look at the wreckage of others' mistakes so you don’t repeat them. Remember: you will fail, but failing smart is the ultimate competitive advantage. First, stop procrastinating under the guise of "planning." You
Niladri
May 262 min read
Why Your "Worst" Work Still Matters.
Is bad art an ART? Who decides what “bad art” even means? Something that we can all agree on is that art is totally subjective. What may appear masterful to some may look amateurish to others – the execution of an idea may land for some and fall flat for others. But what about art that is objectively BAD? For example, the proportions are off, the foreshortening is inaccurate, and the perspective is wonky. What about art that’s 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨? In my opinion, art that is technicall
Niladri
May 252 min read
Why Are Climate Conversations Entering the Art World?
Artists are very familiar with the fact that nature is both a muse and a resource to be pulled from. The best artists know how to do this respectfully. Art has always relied on natural, often exploited resources. What’s changing now is awareness and accountability. As modern conversations about ethical and ecological approaches to using resources arise in the art world, it’s topical to look back at instances where these natural resources weren’t used ethically. Indian Yellow
Niladri
May 133 min read
What Did My Trips Teach Me About Humanity?
I thought I understood people until my travels taught me something uncomfortable. I’ve often found humanity — or its absence — in the less-trodden corners of the world. But the most profound lesson I ever learned came not from a human, but from a rickety mule in the bustling bazaars of Marrakech. As always, I was out looking for subjects to photograph that day. That’s when I came across the mule, laden with rags, baskets, boxes, and crates. It was sopping wet, cold, and shive
Niladri
May 132 min read
Is Art Always Political?
It’s a question you hear often: Is all art political? That Picasso? That contemporary performance art piece? That meme you saw on your feed today? Is it all really political? To answer that question, we’re going to have to take a deeper look at art, meaning, and propaganda. It’s easy to look at art that has a clear political message, for example, political cartoons, and to see that it holds that sort of sentiment. But what about something as abstract as Jackson Pollock’s pain
Niladri
Apr 242 min read
Ghibli AI Art
This trend is viral today, but an ethical disaster tomorrow. There has been an influx of posts on social media related to the AI recreation of images in the style of Studio Ghibli art, with your past/future self, with your favorite celebrity, or reimagining different artistic concepts by various artists. All it takes is a prompt, and you can get a ‘piece of art’ for increasing your social media engagement. However, what appears to be a celebration of the artists and their ar
Niladri
Apr 242 min read
Struggles of New Artists
Before You Become an Artist, Read This! Any artist knows that certain struggles come from being an artist. But this is especially true for the set of problems that come with being new to being an artist. For a newbie artist or creative person in the industry, there are a number of hurdles to overcome. Trolls feed the art you post online into AI to mock you or one-up you, other artists copy or steal your work, the algorithm never seems to favor you and even shadow-bans some o
Niladri
Apr 242 min read
The Legitimacy of AI Art Tools
Statistically, 90% of your LinkedIn feed is now "prompt engineers" pretending they went to art school. Artists often disparage AI art itself for being derivative to a rudimentary, crippling degree and see it as something to be avoided. But what about AI tools? Can they be used to our advantage? Is it worth using them? Are the AI art tools democratizing art, or killing the craft? The answer is a little complicated. Say you have an image that you created but lost the original
Niladri
Apr 242 min read
Unpopular Opinion as an Artist
I know this won’t be received well by most serious artists, but I’ll say it anyway. 91% of the artists spend their entire careers building a ‘signature style’. But they don’t realize their signature style can be a deathtrap! Most artists want to be found. They want to build a brand of their own that makes them stand out from the crowd. They want their work to be identified from across a room. And, this is useful as well. This recognizability creates a sense of reliability
Niladri
Apr 221 min read
The Art Behind Every Journey
IS TRAVELING AN ART? As an avid globetrotter myself—as well as an artist—I have reveled in the idea of travel itself being an art form. But am I touting an unfavorable viewpoint? At the outset, let’s clear something up: I’m referring not just to our wandering eyes setting on the arch of a doorway or the bright colors at a local food market in a faraway continent—that could very well be argued to be the spark that creates art, if not art itself. But here, I’m referring to the
Niladri
Apr 222 min read
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