Take Me to the Palace of Love grew out of a global pandemic (January 19 – May 14, 2023). Inspired by Rina Banerjee’s “Take Me, Take Me, Take Me…to the Palace of Love” (2003), affectionately dubbed the “Pink Taj,” the exhibition took as its departure point, the theme of love inextricably linked with the Taj Mahal, the architectural wonder re-imagined by Banerjee in her installation. A Mughal monument famously built by an emperor to commemorate his beloved wife, the Taj belongs to a different time and place. But it was never far from our minds as we organized the exhibition, while weathering a pandemic that deepened our appreciation for the power of love to refresh, heal, and build new memories. And so, Take Me to the Palace of Love came to be rooted in the nourishing power of love, coax us to reflect on our sense of place in our communities and on our planet.

Love, as Banerjee reminds us, has been distorted to create social inequity and destroy our relationships with the natural world. Drawing us into a trail of disruptions and broken connections, Take Me to the Palace of Love aimed to revive conversations on our campus and wider Syracuse community, about the need to restore our social bonds and rediscover our fragile links to nature. It invited viewers to ask: can love play a role in how we view ourselves and shape our sense of place? Has climate change been impacted by the loss of love? Does love create or resist gendered and racialized identities? These questions continue to haunt as we slowly come to terms with the impact of COVID-19 on our families, friends, and communities—and on our earth.

Take Me to the Palace of Love was more than just an exhibition: it was a series of community events that brought the artist together with students, faculty, staff, and community members from the city of Syracuse, during Banerjee’s residency at Syracuse University as the Jeannette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities (February 19 - March 4, 2023). Located in a city with a vibrant, but largely segregated Black, Latino, and Asian minorities, and New American communities, Syracuse University is home to a diverse and international student population. Focusing on ideas about identity and place was, therefore, essential to engaging with the exhibition.

A post exhibition catalogue, this website pays tribute to the exhibition, Banerjee’s Watson residency, and the numerous interlocutors who generously participated in the conversations, workshops, and exchanges organized in conjunction withTake Me to the Palace of Love, including a grand finale that saw Banerjee in dialogue with acclaimed scholar, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. It includes video-recordings of events along with essays on the art installations penned by Syracuse University faculty, Jason Vartikar (Whitney Museum of American Art) and Rebecca Brown (Johns Hopkins University).

Curated by Romita Ray, associate professor of art history at Syracuse University, in collaboration with Vanja Malloy (former director) and Melissa Yuen (interim chief curator) at the Syracuse University Art Museum, Take Me to the Palace of Love was generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Syracuse University Humanities Center, along with The Republic of Tea and the following departments, units, and programs at the university: African American Studies; Anthropology; Art and Music Histories; Chemistry; CNY Humanities Corridor; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Law; East Asia Program; Earth and Environmental Sciences; Engaged Humanities Network; English; Geography; Goldring Arts Journalism and Communications Program; Hendricks Chapel; History; Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program; Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; Museum Studies; Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Office of Research; Office of Strategic Initiatives - Academic Affairs; Renée Crown University Honors Program; School of Architecture; S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications; South Asia Center; Special Collections Research Center; Syracuse University Art Museum; Syracuse University Humanities Center; The Lender Center for Social Justice; William P. Tolley Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities; Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE); Women’s and Gender Studies; and Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition.

The exhibition organizers thank Rina Banerjee for her generous loan of works, intellectual curiosity, creative energy, and participation in numerous events during her residency at Syracuse University. They also thank the senior administrators, faculty, students, and staff at Syracuse University, and the Syracuse community members who brought this exhibition and its broad array of events to life in exciting ways. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), Herbert F. Johnson Museum, and the Munson for their loans; Sarah Workman, assistant director, proposal development in the Humanities; John Umphlett, exhibition installer; and Elizabeth Novoa, who designed this website.

In April 2024, Take Me to the Palace of Love was recognized by the Museum Association of New York (MANY) with an Award of Distinction in the “Engaging Communities” category.