In 1997, Khoj International Artists’ Association began as an annual workshop with local and international artists with the intention of promoting experimental and unconventional art. Khoj now has a beautiful office space in Khirki in south Delhi. It supports artists by offering them a creative space where they can practise and, importantly, a space where they can fail.
Khoj’s commitment to socially engaged art projects comes from the belief that art can inspire social change. “What can art do and what should it do?” asks Pooja Sood, one of the founding members of Khoj, reflectively.
Khoj encourages its artists to find a middle path between artistic practices and the approach adopted by civil society organisations to effect social change. Such projects lie at the intersection of many practices. Can something fruitful emerge if civil society organisations and artists engage with each other? Khoj believes so.