Madhumita Nandi

Carried by the currents of place and memory, I gather ways of knowing and being, my relationship to land evolving since birth in Zambia, raised in the Bengal delta, and shaped by diverse communities across India and beyond. This ongoing journey informs my interdisciplinary approach as a social and visual anthropologist currently based in Berlin, Germany where I engage with political ecology, memory culture, and archival practices.

My research explores socio-ecological transformations, migration, and spatial politics, focusing on the imaginaries and politics of belonging, and how identities are continuously shaped through movement and place-making. Drawing from ethnographic methods, multimodal anthropology, urban political ecology, Science and Technology Studies (STS), and archival inquiry, I navigate the layered politics of representation through the interplay of colonial legacies, ecological shifts, and evolving governance frameworks.  My work centers on the production of situated knowledge through the integration of text, imagery, sound, data, participatory installations, and digital platforms.

With over a decade of experience behind the lens, my process oriented work began in Kolkata documenting urgent social and environmental crises alongside humanitarian organisations in India. I expanded this engagement through collaborations with leading agencies, brands, and organisations across India. As a founding member of India’s first storytelling platform, ‘Untold’, I helped pioneer immersive digital narratives that challenge dominant discourses and amplify marginalised voices, engaging diverse audiences on multiple levels. My Master’s thesis in Visual and Media Anthropology at the University of Münster, Germany, critically examined the intricate politics of gaze and power embedded within visual representation and spaces,  informed by archival methodologies. My practice evolved through my role as Artistic Co-Director of Oyoun, a Berlin cultural nexus, where I lead intersectional projects centering decolonial, queer-feminist, and migrant perspectives. These initiatives have received support from institutions including Nordisk KulturFond, Globus Opstrat, and Senate für Kultur, Kultusstiftung des Bundes. My work extends into social engagement, technology, citizen participation, and politics, where I explore the synergy between art, science, and technology to foster more democratic, inclusive, and culturally driven spaces.

My research and fieldwork flows across coastal ecologies in Asia, the Pacific, the Arctic, and European borderlands, where I collaborate with communities to investigate socio-ecological transformations, cultural memory, and environmental change. These transregional experiences strengthen my interdisciplinary practice in political ecology, broadening insights into climate resilience, migration, and justice.