
tl;dr
- The exhibition Raqs Media Collective: Cavalcade at Neubauer Collegium for Culture & Society in Chicago features a new film by the group.
- This presentation represents the culmination of the three-year research project Reimagining Cosmopolitanism, initiated by the Collegium and the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT).
- The film is complemented by a set of three enigmatic AI-generated prints.
The Neubauer Collegium for Culture & Society in Chicago is exhibiting a set of works by the Delhi-based artist group Raqs Media Collective. Raqs Media Collective: Cavalcade features a new film by the group, which is accompanied by a set of three prints. This presentation represents the culmination of the three-year research project Reimagining Cosmopolitanism, initiated by the Collegium and the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT).
The premise of the film Cavalcade revolves around the interaction between human and non-human beings. The term “cavalcade” acquires a different meaning, as the collective visually reimagines a religious procession going down the streets of the holy Hindu city of Deoghar. The soothing voiceover included in the film invites viewers to contemplate the events unfolding on screen in a non-linear fashion, emphasizing the tangled nature of reality.

The procession morphs into a phantasmagoric gathering consisting of ghosts, spectres, skeletal figures, and guardian spirits. This procession of non-corporeal beings finally joins in on the procession of devotees marching through Deoghar as they unite in celebrating the nuptials of the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati.
The film is complemented by a set of three enigmatic prints that utilize generative AI. The intrusion of machine sentience into this solemn procession of humans and spirits poses the question of what it might mean to extend solidarity to non-human beings. The opening of the exhibition coincided with a conference organized by the Collegium and 3CT, where researchers discussed how to redefine the conceptual parameters of global citizenship in a new era.
The exhibition is open for viewing at Neubauer Collegium through July 11, 2025. More information about this and other events at the Collegium can be found on their site.