Director - Exhibitions & Curation
Dr. Arnika Ahldag is the Director of Exhibitions & Curation at MAP, where she leads the museum’s curatorial strategy, exhibition-making, and publishing. Her work explores how museums in South Asia can function as spaces for critical reflection, care, and collective imagination. At MAP, Arnika has developed a hybrid programme that integrates digital and physical formats to reach broad and diverse audiences. She has curated exhibitions that foreground underrepresented narratives, trans-regional histories, and questions of social justice.
Her curatorial practice is informed by a background in art history and feminist theory, and a sustained interest in the role of museums and cultural work across geographies. She holds a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, where her research focused on the representation of labour in Indian art. In addition to her curatorial work, Arnika has taught at universities in India and has worked extensively in the fields of performance and contemporary art. She is currently shaping MAP’s research and fellowship programmes, and spearheading regional collaborations that connect institutions across India and beyond.
