Expressions of Identity and Memory
About Dhiraj Rabha
Art Practitioner
Assam
Dhiraj Rabha (born 1995, Borali Gaon, Assam, India) is an interdisciplinary art practitioner whose practice engages with memory, marginal histories, and socio-political narratives from Northeast India. Growing up in an ex-ULFA detention camp in Goalpara, Assam, Dhiraj’s work reflects a deep personal engagement with stories of displacement, resistance, and collective memory. His Drawings, installations, films, sound works, and archives examine the intersection of personal histories and larger political conflicts, often focusing on narratives silenced by state mechanisms.
Rabha holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Painting from Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, alongside a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Dudhnoi College, Assam. His interdisciplinary approach is informed by this diverse educational background, blending research-based methodologies with experimental storytelling, site-specific installations, and community participation.
He has received several prestigious awards and grants, including the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (2025, Canada), the Prince Claus Seed Award (2024, Netherlands), the Generator Cooperative Art Production Fund by Experimenter (2023-24), and the India Foundation for the Arts Production Grant (2022-24), Toto Awards for Photography, Bangalore. Rabha has also been part of notable residencies, such as the Khoj Peers Residency (2024), Immerse 3.0 Fellowship (2024), and the Next-Step Residency by Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation (2023).
His work has been exhibited and presented widely in India and internationally. Key presentations include the upcoming Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2025), Whitechapel Gallery in London (2025), Angkor Photo Festival in Cambodia (2025), Stir Art gallery (2025), Gallery Splash (2025), Bengal Biennale (2024), Serendipity Arts Festival (2023), and site-specific exhibitions like Reminiscence of Home at Sulfa Camp, Assam.
His practice combines archival material, interviews, video, sound, and physical structures, often working directly with communities connected to his own histories. Through his immersive installations and films, he constructs fragile yet resilient narratives, positioning art as a space for reclaiming stories and making visible the invisible experiences of communities impacted by conflict and displacement.