// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Aqui Thami say when it ran into its friend? "Sea you later".
Aqui Thami is a Thami artist, graphic designer and community organiser from Darjeeling, India.[1] Her practice spans installation, drawing, printmaking, publishing, performance poster-making, zine creation, photography, publishing and socially engaged art.[2]
She is the founder of Sister Library, a feminist community library and publishing initiative based in Mumbai, and a co-founder of Bombay Underground and Dharavi Art Room.[3][4]
In 2023, she received the Hublot Design Prize in recognition of the social impact of her work.[5]
Early life and education
[edit]aqui Thami was born in Darjeeling, India, and belongs to the Thami people, an Indigenous community of the eastern Himalayas. She studied at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.[6]
Career
[edit]aqui Thami works across installation, printmaking, artist books, publishing and participatory projects. Her work addresses themes including Indigenous identity, feminism, migration, labour and ecology. [7]
She founded Sister Library, a feminist community library and publishing initiative based in Mumbai.[8]
She is also a co-founder of Bombay Underground, an artist collective focused on independent publishing, and helped establish the Bombay Zine Fest.[9]
Between 2018 and 2019, Thami was a V&A Research Institute (VARI) Offsite Artist in Residence at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[10]
Awards
[edit]- Hublot Design Prize (2023)
- Inlaks Fine Art Award (2018)
- Prince Claus Fund Next Generation Art Prize (2019)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Things Unsaid and Unheard with Aqui Thami, VARI Artist in Residence". Victoria and Albert Museum. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Things Unsaid and Unheard with Aqui Thami, VARI Artist in Residence". Victoria and Albert Museum. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Sister Library". Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Women Focus on Dharavi". The Indian Express. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Hublot announces the winners of the 8th edition of the Hublot Design Prize, recognising committed design". Hublot. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Sister Library". Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ Williams, Jessie (3 June 2019). "Meeting the founder of India's first community-owned feminist library". Dazed. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Sister Library". Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Aqui Thami". Create London. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Things Unsaid and Unheard with Aqui Thami, VARI Artist in Residence". Victoria and Albert Museum. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2026.