Geetanjali Sayal

Geetanjali Sayal is an architect and researcher based in Delhi. She has done her postgraduation in Narrative Environments from the Central Saint Martins, London. Her master’s project won the prestigious Knight Frank award in 2017 and its developed version was featured in conjunction with the 57^th Venice Biennale. In the past few years, Geetanjali has worked on various collaborative projects across London, Brazil, Argentina, Malta and India that include large scale public festivals with Artichoke in London and the Serendipity Arts Foundation in India. Her team of collaborators for this project include Prashansa Sachdeva and Bhawna Dandona, who specialise in architectural design and conservation. 

This grant will enable Geetanjali to study the contribution of Art Deco as a modernist movement in India with a focus on the architecture of Delhi. Exploring the intersections of arts and architecture, she will examine the role of Art Deco in shaping the cultural identity of Delhi under the British rule. Geetanjali aims to build appreciation for this ignored and disappearing style, along with the narratives of lesser-known artists, patrons, architects, artisans and local people associated with its propagation in Delhi.

Heritage in India is broadly understood as structures, sites, traditions, knowledge and objects that are more than a hundred years old. With regard to Delhi, the emphasis has always been on ancient, medieval and colonial architecture. Art Deco, which once significantly contributed to the cultural landscape of the city, has often been neglected by the chroniclers who are focused on politically driven architectural styles. During the colonial times, alongside Bombay, Art Deco became a popular architectural style for bungalows, palatial houses, hotels and cinema halls, and vast expanses of middle-class houses in Delhi. The introduction of new material, design patterns and motifs of this style reached the masses, thus enabling experimentation in the arts and design sensibilities of India. Factories and industries across various Indian cities cropped up to develop the infrastructure required for Art Deco architecture. The style also contributed to a range of cultural artefacts and spaces in Delhi and Bombay that included films, theatres, product designs, advertisements, fashion magazines, design journals, corporate buildings and architectural interiors. Through this project, Geetanjali aims to initiate and broaden the discussion on the notions of heritage in the present time by including Art Deco in its recognition and study. 

Geetanjali will study how Art Deco opened up new avenues for artists and architects to experiment with ornamentation, geometric patterns that catered to the modern lifestyle. She will analyse how new material and techniques like cement, reinforced cement concrete (RCC), prefabricated panels combined with the aesthetics of Art Deco fostered a new development of art and design in India. She will explore the possible forms that future heritage documentation will take in a digitally-driven world and the roles various stakeholders will play in spreading awareness about Art Deco.

To investigate the genesis and evolution of Art Deco architecture in Delhi, Geetanjali will study maps from different periods, design journals, magazines, government directories, annual reports and family archives. She will document the Art Deco buildings in Delhi and make an inventory of them. She will also interview the owners and occupants of these buildings and key architects, artists, contractors, artisans and developers about their views on Art Deco.

The outcomes of the project will be a digital exhibition of photos, inventories of buildings, maps, oral narratives of building owners and occupants, stories of architects, artists, contractors, artisans and developers, a visual publication, and a pocket guide with maps and overview of public typologies. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be a link to the website hosting the digital exhibition, visual publication and a pocket guide with maps.