Dr. Sandhya Rajasekhar - Executive Editor - Editor’s Note

Culture includes personal and societal ways of living, values, ways of making meaning, symbolism through language, art, etc., and spiritualism, religion, and rituals. Art is a representation of culture with symbolic expression of the creative dimensions of human beings, be it drawing, painting, music, literature, poetry, photography, cinema, fashion, or AI.

Starting with the cave paintings of prehistoric times, to the dancing girl of the Indus Valley

civilisation to the present AI digital art, creativity has indeed come a long way.

Carl Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious states that there are certain cultural similarities across mankind that are innate in us and make us relate to each other.

The idea of God, the existence of Heaven and Hell, belief in a golden past, the concept of the hero, and the idea of beauty, for example, are comparable across civilisations.

This is what makes culture and art —a creative, symbolic and a higher dimension of culture— so important and crucial in connecting people and the unity of mankind.

For culture to continue and flourish, communication is essential.

When modern media were introduced, sections of intellectuals and philosophers debated on the mass character of culture that was being disseminated through the media, especially cinema and television.

The Internet has created an even and open playing ground for everyone — we are no longer just the audience, we are users of media. People are simultaneously producers, consumers and disseminators of content. In this age of global cultures, cutting across civilisations and generations.

The Atelier e magazine is a unique offering with contributions from eminent artists and culture connoisseurs from across the globe. It also welcomes talented new artists as torchbearers for the future.

Our focus story in the introductory issue is the 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela, the spiritual and religious event in India in January-February 2025, that attracted the largest congregation of people anywhere in the world.

The first edition of the magazine offers topics that range from use of AI in art and cinema, to water art, fashion, art as therapy, spiritualism, poetry and more.

The Atelier is a result of the collective effort and collaboration of various artists who firmly believe that art has a crucial role to play in “shaping global narratives” as Lisa Russell, Emmy-winning filmmaker, AI artist, and arts advocate, emphasises in her article on the role of AI and Art.

We hope to make a difference in this space in the days to come.