State of Play: Presented by AMITHA

May 13, 2026 – June 14, 2026

Gotham Chelsea

146 10th Ave

New York, NY 10011

Opening Reception and Benefit Shopping Event | May 13th, 6-9pm A reception to celebrate the opening of State of Play. During the reception, Gotham will donate 10% of the proceeds of all products sold at Gotham Chelsea to The Here and There Collective. For every $25 spent, one receives one entry into a drawing for a collector’s set spanning the AMITHA collection. Host Committee: Dominique Fung, Kathy Huang, Rafael Flores, Jeffrey Meris, and Will Leung

Panel Discussion with Amanda Ba, Sahana Ramakrishnan, and Anna Park, moderated by Amitha Raman, Founder of AMITHA | May 16th, 1-2 pm Join exhibition artists Amanda Ba, Sahana Ramakrishnan, and Anna Park for a discussion on their practices and the concept of play. The discussion will be moderated by Amitha Raman, Founder of AMITHA and co-host of Art from the Outside.

AMITHA is pleased to present State of Play, a benefit exhibition for The Here and There Collective, a non-profit organization committed to highlighting and supporting art practitioners from the Asian diaspora. The exhibition brings together fourteen artists to explore the concept of play. State of Play will be on display at Gotham Chelsea, a space where contemporary art and culture converge with cannabis, from May 13 – June 14, 2026. An opening reception and retail event will take place on May 13th, 6-9 pm, offering guests a chance to win a collector’s set spanning the AMITHA collection of art-inspired luxury smoking accessories. Artists featured in the exhibition include Anna Park, Peter Chan, Amanda Ba, Sally J. Han, Sahana Ramakrishnan, Xingzi Gu, Zoe Blue M, Chelsea Wong, Yowshien Kuo, Youngmin Park, Ian Ha, Yehwan Song, Daniel Um and Leila Seyedzadeh. Throughout history, artists have played a key role in redefining play as a powerful tool for experimentation, critique, and new ways of seeing the world. Play challenges boundaries, questions authority, and inspires alternative possibilities, often serving as a subtle form of protest. As artist Niki de Saint Phalle observed, “I used to think there was a need to provoke, to attack religion, and the generals. And then I understood that there is nothing more shocking than joy.” Her words remind us that joy itself can carry a radical charge, and that in moments of distress the simple act of embracing play can become a quiet form of resistance. State of Play continues a conversation that began with an exhibition organized by The Here and There Collective in 2023 featuring various artists’ interpretation of the notion of play within their practices. For some, play emerged through historical inquiry; for others, through conceptual experimentation, familial relationships, or personal memory. For this iteration, fourteen artists were invited to explore two questions: How do you find and create joy through play in your daily life? And how does that sense of play manifest in your artistic practice? These artists approach play from various vantage points: weaving through repetition and pattern, playing with the tension between order and improvisation, or allowing a work to unfold beyond original intention. Across these practices, play becomes a way of moving through uncertainty, remaining open, attentive, and receptive to moments of mutual discovery and joy that emerge through the act of creating.