About Line & Verse
A peer-led platform for writing, discovery and connection around South Asian arts in New York City and beyond.
Through reviews and articles, event listings and a growing artist directory, Line & Verse documents the work being created, helps audiences discover it, and creates more ways for artists and practitioners to find and engage with one another.
Writing that takes the work seriously
Thoughtful review is an important part of a healthy arts ecosystem.
Line & Verse publishes reviews, reflections and conversations across dance, music, theatre and interdisciplinary practice. We value writing that is informed, specific, honest and fair and that engages seriously with artistic choices while recognising that no review is the final word on a work.
Artists writing about artists
Line & Verse is rooted in peer engagement.
Artists and practitioners bring a particular kind of knowledge to writing about the work of their peers: an understanding of practice, process, form and the communities in which the work is made.
That does not mean avoiding difficult questions or negative responses. It means approaching another artist’s work with curiosity, rigour and care.
Discover what’s happening
Line & Verse also helps make the South Asian arts landscape easier to navigate.
The Events calendar brings together performances, festivals and other arts events in one place.
The Directory helps artists and arts practitioners make their work visible and find potential collaborators.
Together, these sit alongside our writing as part of a broader effort to keep the arts community informed, connected and engaged.
Our Story
Line & Verse began as a New York extension of Pulse, a South Asian dance and music publication produced by UK arts charity Kadam.
Pulse has long played an important role in documenting the South Asian arts landscape in the UK by profiling artists, discussing and contextualising their work, and helping to keep the sector informed, connected, and energised.
Line & Verse draws inspiration from this approach while developing a platform rooted in the artistic community of New York City.
Editor & Founder
Swati Seshadri is a Bharatanatyam dancer, nattuvangam artist, Canatic vocalist and writer based between New York City and London.
She created Line & Verse to make more space for artists to engage seriously with one another’s work, to strengthen the written record around South Asian performance, and to make it easier for artists and audiences to discover what, and who, is around them.
Join the conversation
Line & Verse is built through participation.
Write with us. List an event. Join the directory.
Read, respond, and be part of the conversation.
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