E/MERGE: ART OF THE INDIAN DIASPORA Closes With Festive Activities May 14–15

The National Indo-American Museum (NIAM), which builds bridges across generations and connects cultures through the diverse colorful stories of Indian Americans, closes its inaugural exhibition, E/Merge: Art of the Indian Diaspora, with a weekend of events May 14 and 15 at its home, the Umang and Paragi Patel Center at 815 S. Main Street in Lombard, Illinois.

On Saturday, May 14, NIAM hosts a free open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., welcoming all nine E/Merge artists to talk about their work.

On Sunday, May 15, in conjunction with the Village of Lombard's Lilac Time Parade, NIAM offers art activities for children, led by artist Piyas Bhattacharjee, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and dance performances by Tarana School of Music and Dance from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The museum will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the regular admission fee of $5, free for children 12 and younger.

With major funding provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, E/Merge showcases contemporary, cutting-edge works created by nine Indian-American visual artists from across the United States. Curated by Shaurya Kumar, chair of faculty and associate professor at School of the Art Institute Chicago, the exhibition includes artists who have traversed international borders and adopted the United States as their home. The nine artists whose works appear in the exhibition are:

• Avantika Bawa, Vancouver, Washington
• Sarika Goulatia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Sreshta Rit Premnath, New York, New York
• Kaveri Raina, New York, New York
• Nandita Raman, New York, New York
• Surabhi Saraf, New York, New York
• Kuldeep Singh, New York, New York
• Neha Vedpathak, Detroit, Michigan
• Kushala Vora, Chicago, Illinois

E/MERGE Art of the Indian Diaspora continues through Sunday, May 15, 2022 at the National Indo-American Museum, located at the Umang and Paragi Patel Center,815 S. Main Street, Lombard, Illinois. Free open house: Sunday, May 14, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.. Special closing day activities: Sunday, May 15, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Museum/exhibition hours: Thursday through Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Group tours at other times are available by appointment.

Admission is $5, free for children 12 and younger.
Free parking is available. All programming is subject to change.
Following State of Illinois COVID protocols and CDC guidelines,
masks are no longer required for entry.
For information, visit niam.org

The National Indo-American Museum (NIAM) aims to document and exhibit the stories of diverse Indian communities across America, creating an archive of Indo-American history and culture for future generations. Launched in 2008 as the Indo-American Heritage Museum, NIAM grew organically from the Education department of Chicago's Indo-American Center. NIAM is the first U.S. museum established by and for Indian Americans, evolving to tell the stories of this immigrant community. It is also the first museum of its kind to combine art, education, and digital technology to preserve the heritage and celebrate the contributions of Indian Americans to America's cultural mosaic.

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