
Photo: Ulf Langheinrich
Kiraṇ Kumār (b. 1983) is an artist, researcher and writer whose practice lies at the intersection of dance, critical historiography and speculative computing. Drawing from embodied and conceptual inquiries into yogic & tāntrik practices, his work articulates the nexus (or lack thereof) between premodern and future worlds, through performance, writing and visual art.
Following initial study in mechanical engineering at National University of Singapore (2006), he holds an MFA in new media art from City University of Hong Kong (2012) and an MA in dance from University of the Arts Berlin (2014). His works have shown at Jeu de Paume Paris, Singapore Biennial, Gessneralle Zürich; and published with Performance Research Books, transcript Verlag and Archive Books. His independent artistic research has been supported by Dance Nucleus Singapore (2016), Berlin Centre for Advanced Studies in Arts and Sciences (2016-18), Volkswagen Foundation (2016-19), Literary Colloquium Berlin & Robert Bosch Foundation (2019), Serendipity Arts Foundation (2020) and Academy for Theatre and Digitality (2021). Current research fellowships include Akademie Schloss Solitude (2022/24) and Medienkunst.NRW (2023).
His long term collaborations include the Sono-Choreographic Collective together with sculptor/media artist Kerstin Ergenzinger and composer/sonic artist Bnaya Halperin-Kaddari; and the Department of Para Pedagogic Practices with writer/art historian Shruti Belliappa. He is currently based between Auroville and Berlin.
email: kirankumar (@) archipelagoarchives (.) com
downloads: cv + portfolio