Dr. Atul Sinha
Educator | Animator | Painter | Puppeteer | Sand Artist

Dr. Atul Sinha is an educator, animation filmmaker, painter, puppeteer, and sand artist whose practice integrates traditional performance forms with contemporary digital media. He earned his Ph.D. from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, for his dissertation “Exploring the Art of Shadow Puppetry through Multimedia: A Study of Animation, Video and Interactive Activities.”

Currently Associate Professor at the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dr. Sinha’s research focuses on intermedial practices, hybrid performance, and the convergence of animation and puppetry within global visual cultures. His international publications include book chapters and peer-reviewed papers with Springer Nature (Singapore) and SAGE Publications, where he explores themes such as digital journalism’s gamification, citizen journalism in conflict zones, and creative participatory pedagogy in animated documentary design.

He has presented his research at several international conferences, including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); University College London; University of Tartu (Estonia); University of Calicut; Pondicherry University; and Jamia Millia Islamia’s Faculty of Fine Arts. His studies on intermediality, textile influences in animation, and gendered narratives in digital performance have been well received internationally.

As a practicing artist, his animated short film Vanvas is part of the permanent collection at the Indian Music Experience Museum, Bengaluru. He was the main collaborator for “Shadow Play,” curated by Anurupa Roy for the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa (2019)—a landmark project that merged traditional shadow puppetry with contemporary animation and installation art.

Dr. Sinha continues to bridge research and creative practice, expanding the dialogue between traditional art forms and global multimedia expressions through his pedagogy, scholarship, and interdisciplinary collaborations.