Publication

  • Chandigarh Verse
    Patsy Craig and John Nicholls
    Authors
  • GRANTEE
    Patsy Craig
    GRANT YEAR
    2010

Chandigarh Verse collates American artist-author Patsy Craig's studies of the Indian city Chandigarh into a single published anthology. The work—part documentation of the historical beginnings of the modernist plan, part narrative exploration of the mix of Eastern and Western cultures on Chandigarh's current phase of economic and social development, and part reflective speculation on the city's future prospects—has never before been shown in its entirety. This publication collects photographs, interviews, essays, and archival material, to examine the effects of modernist design on Indian society and culture. Extracts of the project have been shown at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and at the Barbican Centre, London, to coincide with the exhibition Le Corbusier: The Art of Architecture (2009). In March 2011, research for the project was used to instigate a public forum in Chandigarh, Chandigarh's Future: Real Problems and Potential Opportunities.

Patsy Craig is the founder and director of TWO Ltd., a UK-registered company that facilitates her international endeavors as author, artist, researcher, and cultural-event producer. Based in London for the past fifteen years, she has pursued a wide-range of creative projects, exploring innovative uses of image, text, and sound. Formerly, she was the creative director of a design studio uniquely instrumental in realizing works for significant contemporary artists. She subsequently authored a book about the studio Making Art Work (Trolley, 2003). Craig has since produced various cultural events in London and, recently, in Chandigarh, and has exhibited at the Architectural Association, London; RIBA, London; and the British Council Gallery, Prague. She has a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and a master's degree in cultural studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, where she wrote her dissertation on Chandigarh.

Jonathan Nicholls is a practicing architect in London and taught architecture at the University of Nottingham from 2005 to 2009. He has contributed to events and public discussions on the themes of demographic profiling, local cultures, and the effects of behavior patterns on design performance. He has published work in AD, the Architects' Journal, and Blueprint, and has exhibited at the Architectural Association, London. He is currently collaborating on Postcode Portraits, a research project funded by the Arts Council England, about consumer demographics and their effects on the urban realm. He holds a BA with honors and an AA diploma from RIBA.