Bina Sarkar Ellias

Bina Sarkar Ellias is the Editor, Designer, and Publisher of International Gallerie [1], a journal dedicated to the journey of arts & ideas.

Cultural Entrepreneur

In 1984, Bina Sarkar Ellias co-founded the advertising agency "Nucleus", with Rafeeq Ellias and worked for 12 years as its Creative Director. In 1997, she founded International Gallerie [2], a bi-annual arts and ideas magazine that she edits, designs and publishes. Gallerie has been the recipient of 9 awards in 11 years.

Since then, she has contributed towards fostering awareness of global cultures while highlighting socio-political and cultural issues. She has continued to celebrate diversity in a hope to bridge divides in an increasingly fragmentary world.

In recognition of her efforts she was awarded a fellowship from the Asia Leadership Fellow Program and Japan Foundation for research and development of the project: Unity in Diversity: Envisioning Community Building in Asia and Beyond, Tokyo, in 2007[3]. She went on to receive an award in 2008 for Woman Achiever of the year by TimesGroup & ITC[4]. She has also been recipient of the Prince Claus Awards.

Ellias has been invited to speak at various venues, chaired the New Moves Festival discussion with 10 Asian women artists in Glasgow as well as other fora in London, San Francisco, New York, Tokyo, Teheran, Dacca, Lahore, Karachi , Delhi, Santiniketan and Mumbai.

Editor, Writer, Poet

Ellias began early in life as a freelance writer to Desmond Doig’s Junior Statesman, and was employed as assistant editor to T.M. Ramachandra of Film World, an eclectic Indian magazine on world cinema, soon after her graduation with English Literature from Calcutta University. She went on to be a sub editor in Eve's Weekly, following which she contributed articles for The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Hindu and the Hindustan Times through the years.

During the last one decade, she taught herself graphic design and has been invited by artists, galleries, photographers and a poet to design their books and catalogues. To date, she has designed and edited, Fifty Years of Contemporary Indian Art, 1997, for the Mohile Parikh Centre for Visual Arts, Mumbai, 1997[5]. She has designed artist Jehangir Sabavala's catalogue for the 2002 show in Mumbai[6], Delhi and New York, artist Rekha Rodwittiya's catalogue, 2003 and recently in 2007, for shows in New York, Crossing Generations: diverge, the fortieth anniversary catalogue for Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, 2004, and a book on artist Tyeb Mehta, Svaraj by Ramchandra Gandhi,. She has designed, edited and published an art book, Chinthala Jagdish:Unmasked, 2004, and The Curious World of Chinthala Jagdish, 2008, a book of poems, Rain for Indian poet Sudeep Sen, 2005, Ayesha Taleyarkhan’s book of photographs:, Bombay Mumbai, 2005, American photographer, Waswo X. Waswo’s book, India Poems: The Photographs and his recent catalogue, A Studio in Rajasthan, 2008. She has edited and designed photographer, Leena Kejriwal’s book, Calcutta: Repossessing the City. And artist Surendran Nair’s book, Itinerant Mythologies, 2008.

Ellias has conceived three art shows: ‘Rain’ at Sakshi Art Gallery, Bombay, commissioning 32 Indian contemporary artists to make works on Rain; ‘Kashmir’ at Tao Art Gallery, Bombay, where artists from Jammu & Kashmir, long-marginilised, were invited to present their works with mainstream Indian artists in an awareness program of Kashmir, its history and conflict; and ‘The Curious World of Chinthala Jagdish, a show of the Hyderabad artist and his whimsical art works.

An occasional poet. Her chapbook of poems, 'The Room' has been published by AarkArts, UK, besides having appeared in various magazines, anthologies and online poetry sites.

International Gallerie

International Gallerie was conceived and founded by Bina Sarkar Ellias in 1997, as a platform for addressing universal socio-political/cultural issues as interpreted through the arts, and ideas.

Quotes

“Gallerie draws my attention to what I didn't know or what I thought I never needed to know... it is positive and passionate.” -Mel Gooding[7]

Personal life

Ellias was married in Tokyo to the award-winning photographer and documentary filmmaker Rafeeq Ellias[www.manoramaonline.com/.../NationalFilmAwards2004/52_NFA_Awards.pdf] and they have two children; Raoul Ellias who is an IT professional in the US and Yuki Ellias, a theatre actor who played Hermea in Tim Supple’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”[8], and is currently studying theatre in London. Bina Sarkar Ellias lives and works in Bombay.

References

Rethinking Rain [9]

Roving Eye [10]

Bina Sarkar Ellias: Understanding Afghanistan.[11]

Bina Sarkar (India) Gallerie: [12]

German Authors in India [13]

Talking Poetry [14]

An Afghan Affair [15]

Baggage of hate: Review of burning Gujarat [16]

Inspired Poems [17]