Panel Discussion
Postcards, History and the Making of Bangalore
Emily Stevenson, Stephen Hughes, Khushi Bansal and Meghana Kuppa. Please note: This is an online event.
Picture postcard of “South Parade, Bangalore”. Produced by The Picture House, 3 Brigade Road, Bangalore. c. Early 1900s. From the collection of Emily Stevenson.
Explore the history of old Bengaluru through picture postcards.
In this online talk, anthropologists Emily Stevenson and Stephen Hughes will take us through the creation and consumption practices of picture postcards in old Bengaluru. The speakers provided invaluable research support for the ongoing exhibition at MAP: Hello & Goodbye: Postcards from the Early 20th Century. You can get a glimpse into Emily and Stephen’s collaborative research and personal collections on the Instagram account @picture_postcard_empire.
The talk will be followed by a conversation about the role Bengaluru played in the global postcard history nexus. Emily and Stephen will be joined by Khushi Bansal and Meghana Kuppa– co-curators of the exhibition Hello & Goodbye: Postcards from the Early 20th Century.
Dr. Emily Stevenson
Anthropologist
Dr. Emily Stevenson is a visual and historical anthropologist whose work has focussed on Bengaluru. She is currently Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Pitt Rivers Museum and Junior Research Fellow, Linacre College, University of Oxford where her new project, “Studio Encounters”, examines the interconnected histories of photography studios in Bengaluru and Chennai. Prior to her current role, she was Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews and was awarded a PhD in Social Anthropology from SOAS in 2019. Her book, British Indian Picture Postcards in Bengaluru: Ephemeral Entanglements, was published in December 2023.
Dr. Stephen Hughes
Anthropologist
Dr Stephen Putnam Hughes is currently Film Officer and Film Festival Director at the Royal Anthropological Institute in London, UK. He earned his PhD at the University of Chicago and taught for several decades at SOAS, University of London. His specialist interests focus on the Anthropology of Media with an emphasis on documentary and ethnographic film. His published research and regional expertise cover a wide range of topics relating to the history of mass media and the performing arts in Tamil-speaking south India.
Khushi Bansal
Exhibitions Team, MAP
Khushi Bansal is co-curator of the exhibition Hello & Goodbye: Postcards from the Early 20th Century.
Meghana Kuppa
Exhibitions Team, MAP
Meghana Kuppa is co-curator of the exhibition Hello & Goodbye: Postcards from the Early 20th Century.
