South Asian Playground

‘South Asian Playground (SAP) is an ongoing collaboration between first draft (India) x We Friends of Toto (India) x Ghartera (Bangladesh) x Kaalo.101 (Nepal) x Studio Kayamai (Sri Lanka) x Studio 6/6 (Bangladesh) . It began in 2024 when I went to Nepal for a residency with the other independent art initiatives in South Asia, and the friendships that emerged throughout the stay, turned into a collaboration. Thus, SAP was born out of the desire to create a transnational network of SA artists and independent art spaces, with a SA focus, concerns, and resource pooling+sharing, to redirect attention, create avenues for collaboration, mutual support and exchange in SA+, thereby strengthening its cultural foundation.

In September 2025, an exhibition titled- To-gather at the South Asian Playground, came together at Mool in Delhi, catalysed by first draft. It brought together over 135 artists’ works from SA region to question the authoritarian regimes and their belief systems in SA and elsewhere, with works on gender politics, decolonial politics and counter-capitalism, land politics, anti-caste movement, linguistic practices, environmental concerns, community-driven practices, indigenous identities, education, story-telling, and more.