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about keya

identity, culture, reality, found

I am a Prague-based, South Asian video artist working with film, installation, and performance. Currently pursuing a MA at the New Media 1 studio in the Academy of Fine Arts Prague, my practice uses pop culture formats—cooking shows, YouTube tutorials, reality TV—to explore how cultural scripts shape identity and belonging. My work seems to land between documentation and fiction, often performing roles that reveal the gap between who we are told to be and who we actually are.

Recent work includes as long as you promise not to make me do anything about the result, which explores professional interventions on the body with a focus on ophthalmology, rooted in Mark Fisher’s concept of “the eerie” (the failure of presence and the failure of absence). Denle Chayote, which uses the humanised character of a chayote to explore themes of postcolonialism and the enduring legacy of cultural exchange, drawing inspiration from the narrative styles of TV and YouTube shows. Caring to Grow perceives people through their attachment to nature, telling stories of reminiscence, recognition and reflection. I am interested in making theory feel embodied rather than abstract; using humour and emotional resonance to question how we perform authenticity.

Solo Exhibition
#

02/25 Ostrava, CZ
hey look what’s staring back at you Galerie Provoz

Performances
#

09/23 Mexico City, MX
Insider* Museo Del Chopo

06/23 Prague, CZ
Insider* (apartment stage)
Prague Quadrennial 2023

06/22 Cluj-Napoca, RO
Beyond Touring: Insider* Tranzit House

05/22 Berlin, DE
Beyond Touring: Insider* Kiezkapelle

03-04/22 Brno, CZ
Beyond Touring: Insider* Apartment stage

10/21 Prague, CZ
Insider* Alfred ve dvoře

see more performances

10/20 Prague, CZ
Insider* 4+4 Days in Motion 2020

08/20 Pardubice, CZ
Insider* Tvárnost paměti 2020

08/20 Brno, CZ
Insider* CED

12/19 Olomouc, CZ
Insider* PAF 2019

11/19 Brno, CZ
Insider* premiere
CED

10/18 Prague, CZ
Blind Date
4+4 Days in Motion 2018

*part of a collective

Live Visuals
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06/24 Vienna, AT
Lyrarkestra+ 2024 ed. MuseumsQuartier

03/24 Pardubice, CZ
Trať off the rails #2 w/ Evil Medvěd Divaldo29

03/24 Prague, CZ
Earday #1 w/ lizwiz Punctum

see more live visuals

10/23 Pardubice, CZ
Rickey Mouse Fun House: Mousephonic Mayhem Divaldo29

05/23 Ústí nad Labem, CZ
Lyrarkestra+ 2023 ed. House of Arts

04/23 Brno, CZ
Lyrarkestra+ 2023 ed.
House of the Lords of Kunštát

04/23 Prague, CZ
Lyrarkestra+ 2023 ed. Punctum

04/23 Pardubice, CZ
Lyrarkestra+ 2023 ed. GAMPA

11/22 Prague, CZ
Lyrarkestra+ 2022 ed.
Alternativa Festival 2022

11/22 Prague, CZ
Live A/V w/ Evil Medvěd
Neone

10/22 Vienna, AT
Main( ) {Printf(“Hello, World\N”
WUK

09/22 Brno, CZ
Rickey Mouse Fun House: Night at the Mouseleum OC Dornych

09/22 Prague, CZ
Rickey Mouse Fun House: Night at the Mouseleum
Alfred ve dvoře

11/21 Brno, CZ
Rickey Mouse Fun House Alfred ve dvoře

11/21 Brno, CZ
Rickey Mouse Fun House
CED

11/21 Prague, CZ
Zangezi Alternativa Festival 2021

10/21 Tromsø, NO
Live A/V w/ Evil Medvěd + others Insomnia Festival 2021

10/20 Prague, CZ
Live A/V w/ Evil Medvěd
Lunchmeat Festival 2020

Group Exhibitions
#

07/25 Munich, DE
recession indicator
Academy of Fine Arts Munich

05/23 Prague, CZ
Pater, no stare: The missing links National Theatre (New Scene)

03-04/23 Prague, CZ
Faith Trade
Jedna Dva Tři Gallery

02/23 New Delhi, IN
Video Creators Room
India Art Fair

04/22 New Delhi, IN
Fresh Produce
India Art Fair

04/22 Mumbai, IN
Muse
Method Kala Ghoda

see more exhibitions

02-03/22 Tromsø, NO
A Scent of Soil, A Touch of Water
Small Projects Gallery

06/21 Prague, CZ
Reflection in a Pond
Prague College

04-06/21 Online + Pardubice, CZ
Černý bávo > bílej boomer
GAMPA

12/20-01/21 Mumbai, IN
Plot Twist
Method Bandra

01/20 Prague, CZ
Zygote
Prague College

06/19 Prague, CZ
Spawn
Studio Prototyp

06/18 Pardubice, CZ
I Dropped My Phone Yesterday
GAMPA Gallery

05/18 Online
You Make Me Feel Uncomfortable Unleashing
ScreenSaverGallery

Teaching/Workshops
#

10/25 Copenhagen, DK
Co-creating live AV workshop Seeds Residency

02/22 - 02/25 Prague, CZ
Video Atelier w/ Cristina Maldonado, Isa Juchniewicz Prague City University

see more teaching

09/21 - 11/21 Prague, CZ
Relational Art & Video Essay w/ Maldonado
Prague City University

10/21 Tromsø, NO
Creating Visuals (Insomnia Festival 2021) Small Projects Gallery

Residencies
#

09/23 Oaxaca, MX
Pócimas visuales, w/ Maldonado et al.
Centro de las Artes de San Agustin

2019 Brno, CZ
Insider* (research and production)
Terén (CED)

Social Media Management
#

02-06/25 Munich, DE
International DANCE Festival

10/22-01/23 Berlin, DE
Ariel Efraim Ashbel & friends

see more

08/18-05/20 Prague, CZ
Local Artists (shops)

02/16-11/17 Mumbai, IND
Orion Marketing and Communications

09/15-02/16 Mumbai, IND
Digital Dubba

Internships
#

02-08/20 Brno, CZ
Terén - Field For Performing Arts

04-08/20 Brno, CZ
Vašulka Kitchen Brno

Education
#

10/22 - currently Prague, CZ
MgA (New Media 1 studio)
Academy of Fine Arts Prague

10/24 - 08/25 Munich, DE
Erasmus exchange in Klasse Rosefeldt
Academy of Fine Arts of Munich

02/18 - 06/21 Prague, CZ
BA (Hons) Fine Art Experimental Media
Prague College

04/12 - 05/15 Mumbai, IN
Bachelor of Mass Media (Advertising)
Thakur College of Science & Commerce

Knowledge/Skills
#

Languages:

  • English: native
  • Hindi: native
  • Czech: B1
  • Urdu: advanced

Skills:

  • Video: filming, editing, writing, producing
  • Performance: documenting, performing, producing
  • Teaching: workshops, creative facilitation
  • Social media: planning, managing
  • Content creation
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