Indrapramit Roy was the 2004-05 Fulbright Arts Fellow at the University of Arts in Philadelphia, PA and Bennington College in Bennington, VT. At present he is a professor in the Department of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda in Vadodara. At left, he works in his studio at Bennington College during his Fulbright grant.

For my Fulbright, I had elaborate plans to stay as artist-in-residence at two very different institutions in the US: one a liberal arts college at Bennington in Vermont and the other a professional art college at the University of Arts in Philadelphia. In between, I planned a month-long stay in the most global of all cities -- New York. Apart from the residencies I taught a course in illustration, exhibited works I made during my stay and gave two illustrated talks, not to speak of the elaborate museum and gallery visits and travel plans that I had made. What a handful! The Fulbright Foundation staff, after some initial hesitation, accepted my rather unusual plan and I remain thankful to them till date.

The day I arrived at the Newark Liberty International Airport was a perfect fall day of October 7, 2004. My welcome to the United States of America could not have been better. I moved to my first place of affiliation, Bennington, after a brief orientation in New York for a couple of days.

My time flew from the word go and I managed to pack in all that I proposed and much more. For a visual artist and a teacher it is crucial to be able to see the country, its art and its institutions from up close. The Fulbright experience culminated in three solo shows titled This, That & Everything. Two of these were in the US and the last one in New Delhi. Apart from the very fruitful residencies what I cherish are the travels that took me to almost all major cities on the east coast and then on to Florida, Texas and finally Los Angeles. The Grand Canyon was perhaps the most humbling experience and New York the most exhilarating.

Indrapramit Roy after his talk at the University of Arts in Philadelphia

I have visited the US several times after that but my Fulbright sojourn gave me friends for life. Quite a few of them visited and taught in my Faculty at the M.S. University Baroda. But more than anything it has enriched me as a person. I have learnt the nuances of Indian and American art, the commonness of artistic themes in different mediums and the oneness of artists’ efforts everywhere to try and promote mutual understanding and cultural exchange.