PUBLISHING & EDITORIAL DIRECTION

❶  Brown Alumni Magazine
❷  Desi-gned Magazine
ARTS COMMENTARY & WRITING

❶  Artist Duo Creates Immersive Multimedia Installations Inspired By Bioluminescence
❷  Designers We Love: Alaiia Gujral
❸  Let’s Talk: “Off the Record” ❹  Way Back: Archival Photographs
❺  Ear Candy: Music Reviews
❻  Flights of Fancy 
❼  Dowry of the Dhurrie❽  Combat on the Carpet
❾  Lanka’s Tree Wine
❶X  Pardesi SynagogueX❶  The Quintessential Madhumālti
X❷  Bhutan’s Pillars of Happiness
X❸  Women of the Mughal Harem
X❹  Inherent Vice
X❺  Kashmir // Cashmeer
OPINION EDS

❶  Why Are My Country’s Treasures Sitting In Your Glass Cases?
❷  In Our Focus On Viruses, We Underestimate The Risk Of The Deadly Bacteria
❸  Fast Fashion—Not So Fashionable
❹  Why I Love Art: My Nani’s Tijori

EXHIBITION & MUSEUM WRITING

❶  Journey of the Jamawar
❷  Sensory Silhouettes
❸  (Re)Painting Histories
❹  Art & Design: 1900 to Now ❺  Objects May Shift
EXPERIMENTAL FORM

❶  Conscious Creativity
❷  Contemplative Spaces
❸  The Malabar Mango
❹  Of the Naga
❺  26/11 Terror Attacks

Yukti V. Agarwal
 AB Psychology
AB Contemplative Studies 
BFA Textiles (Minor in Art History) 

Providence, USA  |  Mumbai, India


Yukti V. Agarwal is a multi-disciplinary creative working at the intersection of curatorial, editorial, and research-driven practice in the art, design, and culture industries.

She bridges physical and digital worlds, using storytelling to surface meaning through form.

She holds degrees from Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design.

Top Reads: Sea of Poppies (Amitav Ghosh), Fountainhead (Ayn Rand), Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)

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Arts Commentary & Writing, No. ❺
April, 2025 — onwards



Ear Candy: Music Reviews


Brown Alumni in Music Then and Now



Edited by Louise Sloan & Pippa Jack; Produced by Courtney Cheng



Riding the Gen Z Retro-Band Wave


PHOTO: SOFIA KASSALOW ’26

Retro isn’t just back—it never really left. From thrifted Levi’s to vinyl pressings of Pet Sounds, Gen Z has a growing appetite for all things analog. And at Brown, among the tie-dye tees and Beatles b-sides, we’ve got the Stowaways. Six-part harmonies. Two keyboards. One fake theremin. And a deep devotion to the funky genius of Brian Wilson. The Stowaways are Brown’s very own Beach Boys cover band—and yes, they’re as delightfully sunny and strange as that sounds.
        Formed in 2022, the nine-person group isn’t here for kitsch or karaoke. They treat ’60s surf rock like sacred text, layering golden-era vocals with a healthy dose of chaotic charm. Seeing them live feels uncanny: purple-red haze, golden tones, and that ooo-ooo-ooo sound from “Good Vibrations,” played on a keyboard patch literally named Sound #404. It’s like stepping into a lost reel from a ’60s variety show—equal parts retro, reverent, and totally unhinged.
        Sure, nostalgia plays a part. These are the songs our parents blasted on car rides and kitchen speakers. But in a world of curated feeds and AI playlists, there’s something radical about watching real humans, in real time, sing their hearts out.  Seeing them live is like spinning a vinyl from start to finish—one band, one album, on repeat. As for the name? According to frontman Linus Lawrence ’25 (also of the popular band Lawrence), “We’re not the captains of this ship. We just snuck on board.” Yeah. That tracks. The band isn’t trying to reinvent the Beach Boys—they’re just riding shotgun, hanging on for the ride. 

Dive into the full story for behind-the-scenes lore, retro-bands trivia, and the secret to sounding like sunshine on vinyl.

Listen to the Stowaways here


More Ear Candies coming soon.