The JK Paper Award for the Arts: Propositions in Paper was founded in 2023 and is presented annually by Anant Foundation for the Arts in partnership with JK Paper Ltd.
The award is created with the intention of appreciating paper, not as background or support, but as an enduring technology and medium of expression in its own right. It invites artists to engage seriously and rigorously with its material, conceptual and historical possibilities. Through residencies, monetary support and exhibition of new work, the award builds a growing community of practitioners whose work expands what paper can do and mean.
Edition Overview
The third edition of the award is currently ongoing. Ritwika Ganguly has been selected as the winner, with Jyotismriti Bordoloi, Om Kumar and Sejal Solanki receiving Certificates of Recognition. The three honourable mentions have completed their group residency at Arthshila, Siwan. Ritwika Ganguly's solo residency at the Jaipur Centre for Art is forthcoming, and the exhibition of new work will be announced later in the year.
The Winner
Ritwika Ganguly holds a BFA in Painting from Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan (2018–22) and an MVA in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda (2022–24). She is interested in drawing everyday gestures and incidents out of their quotidian contexts and investigating the ambiguity of these details. She works across multiple mediums including drawing, watercolour wash, frame-by-frame animation, stop-motion, video and, more recently, projection mapping.
Status: Ritwika Ganguly’s solo residency at the Jaipur Centre for Art will be commencing in July 2026.
Honourable Mentions
Three artists received a Certificate of Recognition from Anant Foundation for the Arts for outstanding practice. They attended a group residency at Arthshila’s Art Studios at Parivartan, Siwan, and will present new work in a group exhibition at Anant Art Gallery.
Group Residency — Arthshila, Siwan
Our honourable mention awardees- Jyotismriti Bordoloi, Om Kumar and Sejal Solanki attended a residency with Arthshila hosted at Parivartan, Siwan from March-April, 2026. Learn more about their experiences and explorations:
JYOTISMRITI BORDOLOI
At Parivartan, Jyotismriti’s inquiry into the body as a site of memory found new ground. Drawings developed from the elements around her, eco-prints brought forward the memory of plants, and an unexpected collaboration with the women of Arthshila’s stitching department opened her practice in ways she had not anticipated — extending her exploration of the duality of protection and care.
OM KUMAR
Visits to nearby villages and conversations with people in Siwan pushed Om’s practice into new territories, deepening his engagement with narratives of survival, labour and the quiet weight of holding a dream together within contemporary Indian society.
SEJAL SOLANKI
Working in gouache and tea wash, Sejal’s practice is deeply attuned to her surroundings and the emotional charge they carry. At Parivartan, that attunement found new possibilities, expanding her practice in directions she continues to explore.
Award Jury
Partners
JK Paper Ltd
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Arthshila
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Jaipur Centre for Art
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Anant Art
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