Avid Learning in association with the Kala Ghoda Association, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, and Ministry of Culture, Government of India proud to bring the screening of Louis Kahn's Tiger City to their Mumbai audiences.

The Estonian-born American architect Louis Kahn believed that architecture should be timeless. Whether it’s the Salk Institute in California or the Phillips Exeter Academy Library in New Hampshire, his modernist architecture transcends time and speaks to universal human values. His architectural brilliance is visible in condensing the spirit of a place in its building. One such great example of monumental modernism is the National Parliament House of Bangladesh. More than a building, it is a symbol of democracy, a source of pride for its citizens. 

Louis Kahn's Tiger City is a feature-length documentary bringing to screen the untold story of Kahn’s parliamentary complex for the first time. It is a testament to Kahn’s tenacity and commitment to realizing his design, capturing its journey from vision to completion amidst an economic crisis and the country’s war for liberation. Starring three-time Oscar-nominated actor Debra Winger; the only South Asian winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Late Balkrishna Doshi; and Louis Kahn’s son, filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn, the film examines what it means to be a true artist in a hyper-commercial world.  

Experience the “raw emotional power and poetic beauty” at the screening of Louis Kahn's Tiger City.

The screening will be followed by a conversation between Art Historian, Gallerist, and Award-winning Filmmaker and Director of the film, Sundaram Tagore and Principal Architect Somaya & Kalappa (SNK), Nandini Somaya Sampat.

Timing: 5:30 PM to 7:20 PM – Film Screening | 7:20 PM to 8 PM – Conversation

About Faculty:

Sundaram Tagore, is a historian, gallerist, and award-winning filmmaker. He grew up between Calcutta, New Delhi, and the Himalayas, where he went to school. Tagore completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in the United States and has a Doctorate in Philosophy in modern history from the University of Oxford. Tagore is a descendant of the Influential Indian poet and Nobel prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore is an avid promoter of East-West dialogue. He has contributed to multicultural and multidisciplinary events and participated in various exhibitions. Tagore’s debut film, The Poetics of Color: Natvar Bhavsar, an Artists Journey, premiered at the MIAAC film festival in New York City and garnered several awards. The film has been shown at various venues around the world including the Honk Kong Art Centre, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Museum, the Newport Beach Film Festival, and the India International Centre. Tagore’s second film, Tiger City, Is a feature-length documentary on the world architect Louis I. Khan. Tagore was a director at Pace Wildenstein Gallery in New York, before opening his own gallery. He has also advised and worked with several International organizations, including the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the United Nations. Tagore has also written for numerous art publications and his articles have been featured in ARTnews, Art in America, and Art India. He has also conducted lectures on Art at the Tallberg Forum, Sweden, Sotheby's, Honk Kong Foreign Correspondents Club, and Singapore Management University. Tagore has also organized and curated Frontiers Reimagined, a Collateral event of the 56th Venice Biennale, the exhibition brought together works by forty-four painters, sculptors, photographers, and installation artists from twenty-five countries exploring the notion of cultural boundaries, the show received media coverage from around the world and The ArtNewspaper, named Frontiers Reimagined one of the five must-see exhibitions in Venice.

NANDINI SOMAYA SAMPAT Principal Architect, Somaya & Kalappa Consultants | SNK Architect Nandini Somaya Sampat is the Principal Architect of the Mumbai-based architectural practice SNK | Somaya & Kalappa Consultants. After practising as a corporate lawyer, Nandini pursued her passion for design and completed her Postgraduate Diploma in Architectural Interior Design from the Inchbald School of Design, London, followed by her Bachelor of Architecture from Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai. Nandini believes that architectural practitioners of today have the opportunity to become students of other verticals such as Ecology, Archaeology, History, and Arts. She has written widely on architecture, design, craft, public spaces, and research-driven process for several publications. In 2020, she was a speaker at TEDx SIU Lavale, Pune. Forbes India has featured her on ‘The Bold Club’ - India’s top 30 architects in 2021. In 2022 she was on the AD100 list of Architect and Interior Designers in India. Nandini was also included on The Blooloop50 Museum Influencer List – highlighting 50 key individuals from world-renowned institutions for their impact on museums today.