Archana Hande was born in Banaglore in 1970. She lives and works in Bombay and Bangalore, India. She graduated in Printmaking at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan in 1991 and completed her M.F.A at M.S. University, Baroda in 1993.
Hande’s artwork and creative practice has always extended into diverse modes, venues, concerns and forms. Her creative practice has also lead her as an artist curator and as an organisor.
Her notable project is www.arrangeurownmarriage.com, 2002 to 2008. It is a web and installation project that investigates the Institution of arranged marriages and the entire package that comes within religious traditional structure. Among her other projects are: Archanadevi Chamber, All is Fair in Magic White, Relics of Grey, Tales of Patachitrakar etc.She has had solo shows of her works at Z2O/Sara Zanin gallery in Rome, Gallery Chemould in Mumbai, Nature Morte & JNU in Delhi, Lakeeren in Mumbai etc… Her works have also been included in important group shows such as (Incheon Women Artists’ Biennale, Korea; Guangzhou Triennial, China; NIFCA, Helsinki show, etc).
In 2000, she won the Charles Wallace India Trust Arts Award to participate in the Glasgow School of Arts Residency Program. She was awarded the Majlis Fellowship for Visual Arts, Mumbai for the years 2007-2008. Lately she received a research grant from Pro Helvetia Switzerland, 2010 She has also participated in many national and international workshops.