2025
The Pran Collective, founded by Anuka Sushma and Prithvi Prabhu organized a talk titled ‘Music and Dance in the oeuvre of Raja Ravi Varma’ by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy. The talk explored the role of the performing arts in the works of the artist. The talk was held on April 27, 2025.
IILM Center for Arts and Ideas’ new venture called Sameksha had organized a talk titled ‘The Studios of Raja Ravi Varma’ by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy. The talk explored the workings of the artist’s studio and shared rare insights into the working of the studio. The talk was held on April 26, 2025.
The Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat organized a talk titled Raja Ravi Varma & his legacy through Museums by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy on March 1, 2025 as a part of the Museum Lecture Series.
2024
“The Studios of Raja Ravi Varma”
The IGNCA, Regional Center, Vadodara conducted a talk by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy on October 2, 2024 as a part of the Raja Ravi Varma Memorial Lecture series at the Raja Ravi Varma studio.
Gallery Walk at the Maharaja Fatesingh Museum
The IGNCA, Regional Center, Vadodara in collaboration with the Maharaja Fatesingh Museum Trust conducted a curated walk of the paintings by Raja Ravi Varma by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy on October 1, 2024.
Moving beyond the religious image
The Apparao Galleries and INTACH, Chennai Chapter organized a talk by Ganesh Shivaswamy which examined the impact of the religious image beyond the general worship ritual.
The talk was conducted on August 31, 2024 at the Apparao Galleries, Chennai.
Examining the interplay of art, law and policy through Raja Ravi Varma
The Madras Book Club organized a talk by Ganesh Shivaswamy which explored the interplay between art, law and policy through the legacy of Raja Ravi Varma.
The talk was held on August 30, 2024.
Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint – A Divine Omnipresence
The Museum of Art and Photogtaphy (MAP), Bengaluru has organized a discussion on the third of the six-volume book series, Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint – A Divine Omnipresence. Deepthi Sasidharan and I will explore images used for worship and its impact on other aspects of our lives.
The discussion was held at on August 23, 2024 at the Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru.
Raja Ravi Varma: Law, Lawyers and Art
The DAG, New Delhi conducted a talk exploring the connection between art and law: What is the place of the legal fraternity in the field of art and culture? Are they opposite fields of study or did they converge and help each other evolve? The talk on Raja Ravi Varma: Law, Lawyers and Art was delivered by lawyer and author Ganesh V. Shivaswamy where he weaved together the interplay between law, policy, art and India’s celebrated modernist, Raja Ravi Varma.
The lecture was held on the artist’s birth anniversary on April 29, 2024 against the backdrop of Raja Ravi Varma’s first commissioned family portrait, 𝘒𝘪𝘻𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘬𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘢 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, now in the DAG collection.
Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint – A Divine Omnipresence
The Kilimanoor Palace Trust and the Ganesh Shivaswamy Foundation organized a talk on the third volume of the book series. Ganesh Shivaswamy was in conversation with Dr. T.K. Rajendran. The session was conducted on March 3, 2024 at the Levee Hall, Thiruvananthapuram.
Raja Ravi Varma: Law, Lawyers and Art
The Bangalore International Centre (BIC) conducted a talk on the interaction between Art, Law and Policy on February 10, 2024.
2023
Raja Ravi Varma: The Shaping of an Artist
The Jaipur Lit Fest conducted a session on February 3, 2024 at 10am on the book series with Asad Lalljee.th Ganesh V. Shivaswamy.
The Unseen Raja Ravi Varma
JD Centre of Art & India International Centre conducted it’s 271st Meet the Artist (MTA) Programme with Advocate, author and academic Ganesh V Shivaswamy. It was conducted online on Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 5pm.
Museum of Art & Photography- Book Launch
The Museum of Art and Photography conducted a book launch of the second volume of the book series on December 8, 2023.
Bangalore Lit Fest- Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint
The Bangalore Lit Fest conducted a session on December 2, 2023 at 12 noon on the book series with Dr. Alka Pande.
To Complement the Chromolithograph Exhibition: Raja Ravi Varma: A Cultural Revolution, curated by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy, Apparao Galleries conducted a series of talks.
November 4, 2023:
10:30 am: Gallery Walk by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy
11:30am: Q&A with Ganesh V. Shivaswamy
3:00pm: “Policy and Patronage” – Conversation between Ganesh V. Shivaswamy and Sharan Apparao.
November 5, 2023:
11:30am: Is a Picture still worth a 1000 words. Advertising from Ravi Varma to Louis Vuitton: Ganesh V. Shivaswamy and Alexander Zachariah. (In association with Chennai International Center).
2:30pm: Art and Law by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy.
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS): Literary, Arts and Heritage Fourm organized a lecture and discussion on “Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint” by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy. The event was curated by Dr. Deepti Navaratna, Raman Pai Chair Professor, NIAS. The session was moderated and chaired by Professor Sharada Srinivasan, NIAS.
The event was held at the J.N. Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bengaluru on July, 19, 2023.
KHAKI Labs, Mumbai organized a talk titled “Shaping of the Artist – Exploring Raja Ravi Varma.”
This talk explored the first of the six-volume book series Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint by Ganesh V. Shivaswamy. It was conducted on July 15, 2023.
Raja Ravi Varma – Art and its engagement with society.
The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Chennai chapter and Sujatha Shankar organized a talk on the social imprint of the artist’s legacy. The talk took place on July 1, 2023.
The Chennai Launch and Illustrated Lecture.
The C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and the Madras Book Club organized the Chennai launch of the first volume of the book series Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint. This was followed by an illustrated lecture on the book. This lecture took place on June 30, 2023.
Janmotsav
The Kilimanoor Palace Trust organized the 175th birth anniversary celebrations of the artist at the Kilimanoor Palace on April 29, 2023. The function was inaugurated by Shri. Arif Mohammad Kahn, the Hon’ble Governor of Kerala. Ganesh V. Shivaswamy tendered the keynote address at the event.
Sree Chitra Art Gallery (Department of Museums and Zoos, Government of Kerala) organized a gallery walk exploring the collection of the gallery in the context of the book series- Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint.
The gallery walk was conducted on April 28, 2023 and was live-streamed on Facebook.
Book Launch – Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint
The Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru organized the Bengaluru book launch and a conversation between the author and Shilpa Vijayakrishnan. The conversation took place on April 12, 2023.
Department of Art History & Aesthetics, Faculty of Fine Arts, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and the IGNCA, Regional Center Vadodara.
The MSU, Baroda organized a lecture by Ganesh V Shivaswamy titled “A Lawyer’s take on art – the Raja Ravi Varma example”. This lecture took place on April 11, 2023.
Exploring the book series – Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint
The Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA), Regional Center Vadodara organized a symposium with Gayatri Sinha, Art Critic and Founder of the Critical Collective; Ganesh V. Shivaswamy, Advocate and Author of the book series and Sharan Apparao, Founder of the Apparao Galleries, Chennai. They presented a overarching view of the book series. The conversation took place on April 10, 2023.
2022
APPARAO GALLERIES, CEHNNAI – Music & Dance in the Raja Ravi Varma oeuvre.
Sharan Apparao organized a talk by Ganesh V Shivaswamy to explore the association of music and dance in the works of Raja Ravi Varma. This lecture took place on December 28, 2022.
Raja Ravi Varma Utsav– Varna, Rekha and Sangita
The Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, Regional Center Vadodara organized a three day utsav celebrating the artist’s legacy between April 15 to 18, 2022. This was organized under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and was supported by the Maharaja Fatesingh Museum, Vadodara, the Lukshmi Vilas Palace and the Kalabhavan of the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara.
Ganesh Shivaswamy delivered a lecture titled “Music and Dance in the Raja Ravi Varma oeuvre” on April 17, 2022.
Earlier talks
SAFFRONART – Dialogues in Art: Raja Ravi Varma’s Draupadi Vastraharan
Saffronart CEO Dinesh Vazirani discuss the significance of this painting in Ravi Varma’s oeuvre, along with Ganesh V Shivaswamy.
The Evolution of a Popular Aesthetic: From Raja Ravi Varma to Raghuvir Mulgaonkar
The Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, as a part of its ongoing theme, Art (is) Life organized a webinar exploring the dimensions of the Ravi Varma image on the popular aesthetic. The webinar was held on January 9, 2021.
The talk generated an article titled “The Unique Feminine Aesthetic of Popular Art” by Krittika Kumari.
114th Death Anniversary of Raja Ravi Varma
Dr Githa U. Badikillaya, Founder Trustee of Destination Heritage and Ganesh Shivaswamy discussed the legacy of the artist. This was a webinar conducted on October 2, 2020.
Raja Ravi Varma – the Cult(ural) legacy
Artflute, Bangalore explored the relevance of Ravi Varma’s works in the contemporary context. The symposium was conducted at the Bangalore International Center (BIC) on October 20, 2019.