Saffronart’s Speaker Series, comprising panel discussions, conversations, interviews, debates, talks, presentations and more, is a collection of interactive events hosted globally by Saffronart and then uploaded on our website. Launched in October 2009 with a panel discussion on modern and contemporary Indian art in London, the Speaker Series is designed to increase awareness and understanding about art and jewellery in India, and to strengthen and evolve the discourse that surrounds them by sharing expertise, opinion and anecdotes with a wide audience. Online listeners can download each session as a Podcast or save it to iTunes, listen to selected snippets by topic or artist, view images and read a transcript of the proceedings, and even participate in the discussion by leaving their own notes and comments.

The Studio Visit: Siona Benjamin Participants: Siona Benjamin, Manjari Sihare Date: October 3, 2011 Location: Upper Montclair, New Jersey Our second interview in the studio visit series features New York based artist of Indian origin, Siona Benjamin. Siona is a painter originally from Bombay, now living in the US. Her work reflects her background of being brought up Jewish in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim society in India. In her paintings she combines the imagery of her past with the role she plays in America today, making a mosaic inspired by both Indian miniature paintings and Sephardic icons. Siona has exhibited in the US, Europe and Asia. She has been recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2010-11 for art project titled: Faces: Weaving Indian Jewish Narratives. Click to listen to audio