Inaugural Kirloskar Art Grant Winner Maya.nk Showcases ‘Ghosts in the Closet’ in Pune
Pune, 7th September 2026: The S. L. Kirloskar CSR Foundation today showcased ‘Ghosts in the Closet’, the winning project of the inaugural Kirloskar Art Grant (KAG) by genderqueer artist-researcher Maya.nk from Delhi. The grant supports lens-based practitioners whose work pushes the boundaries of visual storytelling and explores contemporary relationships between people, environments and society. The curation process and formation of the jury for shortlisting the grant were undertaken by the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA).
The showcase, held at One Avante, the corporate office of the Kirloskar Group, featured an evocative photographic series that examines memory, identity, childhood and the gendered image of the self through a queer lens. Drawing on the metaphor of the closet, Ghosts in the Closet reflects on inherited identities, suppressed selves and the many versions of ourselves that continue to shape our lives. The series is part of Queer Childhoods, a larger ongoing project that brings together conversations and interviews with queer individuals around their childhood photographs, using personal archives as a way to explore memory, identity and lived experience.
Commenting on the showcase, Arti Kirloskar, Director, S. L. Kirloskar CSR Foundation, said: “The Kirloskar Art Grant was established to support artists who are expanding the possibilities of visual storytelling and encouraging meaningful dialogue through their work. Maya.nk’s Ghosts in the Closet is a thoughtful and deeply researched project that exemplifies the spirit of the grant. We are pleased to have provided a platform for audiences to engage with the work and the conversations it inspires.”
A key highlight of the showcase was an hour-long interactive session with Maya.nk, who spoke about their artistic journey, creative process and research methodology. The session, attended by employees, offered deeper insights into the ideas underpinning the project and encouraged conversations around photography, archives, memory and identity in contemporary society.
The showcase is part of the S. L. Kirloskar CSR Foundation’s continued commitment to supporting art and culture, alongside its broader initiatives in sustainability, education and community development. Through the Kirloskar Art Grant, the Foundation seeks to nurture emerging artistic voices, support experimental practices and create platforms for meaningful artistic engagement.
Maya.nk is a genderqueer artist-researcher whose work experiments with notions of material, memory and time. Their practice spans a vast spectrum of methodologies, research disciplines and mediums from photography, video and image-making to cultural and media studies, with a focus on queering the divisions and neatly packed boundaries between artistic, archival and research practice. Their exploration into media practice is attuned within a participatory approach that prioritises an ethics of listening in studying visuality.
Their work has been screened and exhibited at Queer East Film Festival, London (2026); Jaha Film Festival, Lisbon (2025); Beyond Borders Feminist Film Festival, Delhi (2025); COMMODE, New Zealand (2025); South Asian Playground exhibition/ Delhi chapter (2025); ‘Absolute Disorder’, Visual Studies exhibition, South Korea (2025); The Listening Academy, Delhi (2024) and Gender Bender Festival, Bangalore (2024). They have been awarded the Future in Formation Public Art Grant (2026) by Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art and Serendipity Arts Foundation; Kirloskar Art Grant for Lens-Based Practitioners (2025); Jury Special Mention by Alkazi Foundation for Theatre Photography Grant (2025) and Gender-Bender seed grant by Sandbox Collective and Goethe-Institut, Bangalore (2024).
