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A day after allegations of repeated sexual misconduct surfaced against Subodh Gupta, the high profile contemporary artist stepped down as co-curator of the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa on Friday, 14 December and denied that he had indulged in any inappropriate behaviour.
The claims of sexual harassment are "entirely false and fabricated", Gupta told PTI in a statement after a former co-worker recounted the alleged experiences of several women on social media and an art writer came forward to corroborate their stories "as a witness".
While the post on Instagram by 'Scene and Herd', a handle that has been aggressively exposing inappropriate behaviour in the Indian art world, was anonymous, Rosalyn D'mello, who has been actively writing on art for the past decade, said she backed the allegations.
Responding to the allegations, Serendipity Arts Festival also issued a statement, informing that the artist will not be present at the 15-22 December event and had stepped down from position of a curator.
It said in its statement that it is an organisation with multiple social objectives, focused on creating an inclusive and responsible space for practitioners across the artistic spectrum.
On Thursday, the anonymous post by a former co-worker of the 54-year-old artist alleged that he "grabbed the hand, touched the stomach, breasts, shoulders, pulled at bra straps, rubbed the thighs".
Despite several people warning women against him and asking them to be "careful" around the artist, she said she was "surprised" no one came forward to call out Gupta as a "serial sexual harasser".
Commenting on the post, D'mello expressed the fear that the art world would be "dismissive" of the charges.
D'mello added that she was backing the post – the latest in India's #MeToo movement against sexual harassment – as a "witness", fully aware that it "will come at a huge personal cost and may directly impact my livelihood as an art writer".
Earlier this year, allegations surfaced against artists like Jatin Das and Riyas Komu, also the co-founder of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, as well as Sotheby's India MD Gaurav Bhatia. Both Komu and Bhatia stepped down from their positions as their respective organisations initiated inquiries into the charges.
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