Research and documentation for this exhibition was conducted by photographer Sohil Maknojia and researcher Rati Ramadas Girish. All photography was conducted at the Houston weddings of Pooja and Gautam Patankar, Meera and Adip Desai, and Alka Tripathy and Tom Lang. Interviews with brides, grooms, family members and others allowed wedding participants to tell the story of the artistic traditions and practices that inform this premier moment in their personal, family and social lives. In the inclusive and community-minded spirit of the Indian wedding tradition, this project was welcomed into the celebrants’ community. Anointed & Adorned: Indian Weddings in Houston was co-curated by Rati Ramadas Girish, Pat Jasper, Sohil Maknojia and Angel Quesada.

This exhibition celebrates continuity and change in one of the city’s most important immigrant communities. By exploring the artistry, festivity and ritual associated with Indian weddings in Houston, Anointed and Adorned captures the beauty that resides in the old and accustomed, and the appeal of the new and surprising. Indian weddings offer celebrants the opportunity to recreate the traditions of their mother country and craft artful observances reflecting their new environment.  

Anointed and Adorned tells the story of the artistic traditions and practices that inform one of the most important ritual and festive moments in Indian life.

 

 

Rangoli by artist Sangita Bhutada.