ADMISSION: 
Admission is free and open to everyone. Reservations required. RSVP in the program schedule below, beginning Thursday, October 1, at 10 a.m. 

DESCRIPTION: 
Step into an immersive world crafted by artist Gautam Rangan where projection, spoken word, and dance come together. Inspired by 16th Century Ragamala paintings, this three-night series will transform the USC Pacific Asia Museum courtyard into a dynamic landscape of light, sound, sculpture, and movement, and will include performances, conversation, and exploration of the interactive installation.

Living Landscapes 
Installation Art by Gautam Rangan
Created in collaboration with Kaya Press
Featuring work by authors Lalbihari Sharma, Rajiv Mohabir, Ansley Moon, and Shadab Hashmi

Performance Program
Featuring Arpana Dance Company
Composed by Aashray Harishankar
With tabla player Robin Sukhadia

PROGRAM SCHEDULE 
RSVP for the events beginning on Thursday, October 1, at 10 a.m. 

Opening Night Performance
RSVP
Thursday, November 19
Doors open at 7 p.m.; program begins at 7:30 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served.
The immersive opening night features live poetry, Bharatanatyam dance by Arpana Dance Company, and interactive projections and sound. Following the performance and brief remarks by the artists, guests are invited to explore and interact with the installation. 

Encore Performance and Conversation with the Artists and Collaborators
RSVP
Friday, November 20
Doors open at 7 p.m.; program begins at 7:30 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served.
Join an encore performance followed by a conversation with the artists, authors, and collaborators. The discussion will explore how art, technology, and storytelling come together in the project, offering perspectives on themes of ecology, memory, and connection. 

Self-Guided Evening of Living Landscapes: Ecology of Rasa
RSVP
Saturday, November 21, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Explore Living Landscapes: Ecology of Rasa at your own pace during this self-guided interactive experience. Wander through an evolving landscape of light, sound, and digital art, and engage with the installation in ways that spark reflection, curiosity, and connection.

Bios: 
Gautam Rangan is a Los Angeles–based multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of technology, perception, and environmental storytelling. Using projection mapping, interactive systems, and spatial design, he creates immersive installations that examine relationships between body, language, and place. Drawing on backgrounds in engineering, design, and large-scale experiential environments, he has contributed to public, commercial, and cultural projects for global audiences. Since 2020, his independent artistic practice has focused on installation as a medium for perceptual inquiry. Recent works, including Light Unshapes, investigate optical illusion, sensory instability, and the fluid relationship between form and flow. @gautam_rangan 

Neelanjana Banerjee is a writer whose fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared widely in journals and anthologies like Prairie Schooner, Weird Sister, Virginia Quarterly Review, PANK Magazine, The Rumpus, and many other places. She is a co-editor of Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry and The Coiled Serpent: Poets Arising from the Cultural Quakes and Shifts of Los Angeles. Her journalism has appeared on Teen Vogue, The Aerogram, The Center for Asian American Media Blog, LA Review of Books, Alternet, WordRiot, Colorlines, Fiction Writers Review, and more. She is based in Los Angeles, where she is the Managing Editor of Kaya Press, and teaches writing and publishing in the Asian American Studies Department at UCLA and through private writing workshops.

Devavani Chatterjea (she/they) is a Bengali American scientist, educator, writer, and policymaker whose work explores the connections between bodies, environments, and health. Their research is shaped by collaborations with artists, poets, filmmakers, and choreographers. In 2025, Chatterjea joined Carleton College as Director of Environmental Studies after serving on the faculty at Macalester College, where they co-founded a leading interdisciplinary program in community and global health. Most recently, they served as Deputy Director for Chemical Safety at the White House Council on Environmental Quality during the Biden-Harris administration, leading efforts to address harmful “forever chemicals." 

Ramya Harishankar is the artistic director of Arpana Dance Company and School, one of the premier Bharatanatyam institutions in California. An empaneled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, she has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, and World Arts West. For more than five decades, Harishankar has performed internationally across India, Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America while sharing her art with generations of students throughout Southern California. A California Arts Council Legacy Artist, she has received numerous honors recognizing her contributions to the cultural landscape. 

Presented by USC Visions and Voices. Organized by the USC Pacific Asia Museum. Co-sponsored by Kaya Press. 

Photo (Devavani Chatterjea): Ackerman + Gruber
Background Art: Gautam Rangan