

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sneha Bhavsar.
Hi Sneha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been a creative all my life. Whether it was handmade gifts or full color illustrated study notes, the process of creation was a natural inclination. Yet, as a first-generation South Asian American female, Artist was not a career option. So I put my dreams of being an artist aside and pursued a profession right off the South Asian immigrant family menu: Science/Engineering/Law. I chose science. The journey to becoming a professional Artist was a long, meandering path. Alongside every academic degree, there was a parallel path in which I continued to paint, create and learn. I was well into 40 when I finally decided it was time to pursue the dream. Yet looking back over the winding path, almost every experience I have had has brought me to where I am today. From working with diverse communities to managing grants and large government projects, traveling across Asia and Central America, all of it informs the Artist I’ve become. My paintings, art installations and crafts highlight our human connections – across history, cultures and continents. I have always been fascinated with the history of people, their stories, culture, myths and folklore. My work brings ancient folk art techniques and processes to a modern audience. The intent is to spark awareness and appreciation for the rich, cultural diversity that adds value not only to Houston but to communities across the country. I believe that all art has a message to convey. My message is one of increasing compassion and understanding.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I genuinely feel grateful and excited that I get to create art for a living. Getting to this point was not an easy road, both personally and professionally. I had one foot in the art world and the other out, just in case I needed to fall back into a career I felt was safer than art. After a few years, this pattern was truly not working and I found myself struggling with time and my level of commitment. On the personal side, when I finally reflected on what it was that kept me back I knew it was fear. Uncertainty, fear of not being good enough, failing. I know now that I needed to work through those fears in order to make the commitment to art. I am still working through periods of doubt and uncertainty, but I am able to release them and not let them dictate my decisions. At the end of the day, or even at the beginning and middle of the day, art is what truly lights me up. So that is what I do. On the professional side, I have been ecstatic with the art commissions I have been a part of, from a large public art commission through the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, to the private commissions of local Houstonians. Obtaining these commissions and grants for my art has been one of the greatest challenges and triumphs of my career. It took multiple rejections of my artistic proposals to get to the wins. Each time my proposal for artwork was rejected, I learned how to improve for the next proposal. I have grown increasingly confident that my art offers something important to those that view it. As I grow as an artist and continue to send out my message, the art will resonate with the right audience at the right place and the right time.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a visual artist whose work highlights our human connections – across history, cultures and continents. My paintings, art installations and crafts bring ancient folk art techniques and processes to a modern audience. The intent is to spark awareness and appreciation for the rich history that is embedded in cultures around the world. I hope that the audience viewing my art will be drawn to investigate further, ultimately increasing their understanding and connection to the people around them. My most well known art pieces showcase traditional ethnic motifs and patterns using non-traditional materials such as upcycled thread, eggshells and recycled hand-cut paper. Much of my large-scale paintings combine folk art techniques such and Chinese papercutting and Indian woodblock printing, spotlighting conventional cultural craft traditions within an unconventional presentation. In recent years, there are so many projects that I am sincerely proud of! The most recent grant award I received from the Houston Arts Alliance and City of Houston Mayor’s Office is for my art exhibition “Stories Incarnate”. Stories Incarnate is an interactive art exhibition utilizing sight, sound and augmented reality to highlight the migration journeys of Houston area refugees. Viewers were able to use an app on their smartphones, point it at each painting and hear the voice of each refugee narrate their story as the painted images animated on their screens. I spent months interviewing refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Venezuela, Iraq and Pakistan. Based on my interviews with 6 refugees, I painted an interpretation of their journey to Houston and the circumstances that led them to flee their country of origin. Through each of the interviews, I was inspired by their resiliency and moved to tears as they talked about their journey, their hopes and their challenges. Stories Incarnate is one of the most impactful art projects I have done, both in terms of impact for the audience viewing the exhibit as well as the refugee participants that were able to share their stories.
Another recent project that I am proud of is a public art commission titled “Folding Stories”. It is a suspended ceiling sculpture celebrating the ethnic diversity and community spirit of the Alief neighborhood. This public art piece is installed at the new Alief Neighborhood Community Center. The commission was awarded by the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and Houston Arts Alliance civic art projects.
For Folding Stories, I asked two fellow South Asian female artists, Ami Mehta and Rakhee Jain Desai to partner with me in designing a proposal for the Alief Neighborhood Center. We thoughtfully created a design that honored Alief’s past, celebrates Alief’s present cultural diversity and signals to Alief’s promising future. One of the most meaningful aspects of this project was in engaging the residents of Alief to contribute to the art installation itself. We employed refugee women sewists from a local community organization to add embroidery to our hand painted fabric panels. This not only engaged community members in the creative process, it also offered a source of employment for some neighborhood residents. In addition, we asked diverse, multigenerational residents to write letters to Alief, capturing their memories and hopes for future generations. Excerpts of their letters were transcribed onto each suspended sculpture. As artists our vision was to create art that was inclusive and representative of the community in which it lives. “Folding Stories” is truly an accomplishment of that vision.
Lastly, it has been my privilege to be a part of Compassionate Houston’s Compassion Through the Arts Grant Committee. This committee works to identify and support local artists from the visual arts, literary arts and musical arts, who are using their craft to cultivate compassion throughout Houston and beyond. In 2022 we offered grant awards and recognition to 10 nominees and named 3 finalists for The Artist of the Year award. Beyond my personal practice as an artist, I feel it is vital that I work to support fellow artists working tirelessly, often going unrecognized as they use their art to uplift their local communities.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
There are a couple of pieces of advice that I would love to share. First, be okay with criticism. It will come, when you present your art to the world, people will have opinions. Your art will resonate with some on a very deep level, and for others it just won’t. And that is perfectly okay. Just keep sharing what you love to do with the world, and always trust you have a unique vision. It will find a beautiful connection. Second, be curious with your art process and what you are capable of. Take the time to experiment with your craft, be bold. Explore different techniques, continuously learn new skills, and stretch your imagination. Some experiments may be epic failures, and some may create MAGIC! None of your efforts will ever be wasted, it all contributes to your growth as an artist and as a human.
One of the truths I wish I had known while I was starting out is that I get to define what success as an artist means. To me, it means that I create opportunities to engage with my community and share pieces of their story through my art. If my art can translate into a connection from one person to another, that is success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.snehabhavsar.com
- Instagram: @snehabhavsar.art
Image Credits
Personal Head shot by Paula N. Luu