The South Asia Art Initiative (SAAI) at the University of California, Berkeley promotes research-based conversations and collaborations around the arts of South Asia + its diasporas from the ancient period to the present. SAAI’s mission as an incubator of creative thought and practice is animated by the research interests of the Cal community of faculty and students as well as collaborations with national and international partner institutions. Along with hosting lectures, conferences, and artist/curator/scholar residencies, the SAAI offers the annual UC Berkeley South Asia Art & Architecture Dissertation Prize and the UC Berkeley South Asia Artist Prize.

Saba Qizilbash, Chachnama. SAAI Artist Prize Winner, 2022.
Events Calendar: Fall 2025
- Wednesday, September 11, 2025
Mithu Sen
Stay Politically Uncorrrect Forever
5-6:30 pm | 10 Stephens Hall - Thursday, September 18, 2025
Guneeta Singh Bhalla
10,000 Memories: A Lived History of Partition
5-6:30 pm | 10 Stephens Hall - October 10-12, 2025
3rd i’s 23rd Annual SF Int’l South Asian Film Festival
Roxie Theater - Wednesday, November 2, 2025
Sylvia Houghteling
Landscapes of Fabrics and Dyes in Early Modern South Asia
5-6:30 pm | Doe Library 308A - Thursday, November 13, 2025
Devendra Sharma
Nautanki: The Musical Theatre of North India
5-6:30 pm |10 Stephens Hall