Parul Dave Mukherjee of the School of Arts and Aesthetics

at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi rued that catalogue writing has taken precedence over critical art writing. Such literature was fraught with the danger of slipping into nothing more than art description - at best appreciation, she added. AAA, having set up its first Indian research post in 2007, the non-profit organisation dedicated to documenting the recent history of contemporary art in Asia within an international context, has over the years undertaken a number of research initiatives in the country. In the afternoon session on 'Sites of Discourse' and 'Discursive Positions', critic-curator Geeta Kapur said art writing could be as intimate and creative as work happening in the studio. As for developing a writing style, Kapur, whose texts are published in anthologies worldwide, said she did not attach much importance to it, as the effort should be progress far beyond that. Shuddhabrata Sengupta of Raqs Media Collective said art writing required the hands of a forensic expert and the eyes of a poet. Earlier, cultural writer-photographer Sadanand Menon noted how governmental custodians of art lacked the wherewithal and drive in fulfilling their duty, even as art journalism mostly failed to read more than desperate efforts to meet deadlines set by publications.