MEET AKSHITA GHANDI, ARTIST & FOUNDER @ DUA FOUNDATION
I am an award-winning multi-media artist – I paint, write poetry, sculpt, work with lightboxes, and in the digital sphere. I believe that artists can elevate, develop, and up-end other sectors. Be it fashion, design, furniture or any creative space an artist will bring great aesthetics to the collaboration. My work can be whimsical and intuitive but also explicitly geared to social change. I have collaborated and been commissioned by design fairs, clothing brands, and music festivals to create body immersive experiences and design collaborations. Technically artists understand proportion, light, space, and think outside the box making every collaboration successful and unique.
What are your short/long term goals?
A couple of years ago my goal was to exhibit my work to American audiences, I invested time and energy to find those opportunities. In 2018 my work was included at Scope Art Fair in Miami with Vogelsang Gallery and the following year, fortunately, opportunities abounded. I showed in Bridgehampton, New York, Miami, London, and Milan. As my work was highlighted in the USA I received more requests in India to collaborate on larger projects. These two years have been very exciting and productive! Now, I want to continue to take my art outside fairs and galleries and onto different mediums, into the lives and homes of people to make my art more accessible.
How do you generate new ideas to stay relevant on the market? Is it important to innovate in your space?
In the art world authenticity is imperative. I want my art to tug at the viewer’s intellect and mind and create an all-rounded experience. For as long as I can remember, I have been an avid reader and loved indulging in good reads, classics and literature. The profound concept and words of authors of different eras have had a deep impact on me and influenced my art stories of Don Quixote and traditional Nursery Rhymes and the words of Herman Hesse and Jhumpa Lahiri have influenced my work. But, my practice and output is always my own and I am constantly experimenting with new ways to manipulate light, paint, and words.
How do you give back to the community?
In 2015, together with my sister Priyanka, I founded the Dua Foundation. We help disabled adolescents achieve financial independence via their art and craft skills, support shelters for survivors of sex trafficking, and organize cultural activities for senior citizens in Mumbai. Our aim is to find local solutions to reduce poverty by providing vulnerable groups with the resources and skills they need to support themselves.
What do you think is the biggest obstacle for underrepresented founders? How can we overcome it?
In India, where I am born and based, there needs to be a monumental change in the way people think and look at women in society. I grew up in Mumbai at a time when boys were more desirable children than girls, to achieve this outcome some families would even choose to abort a fetus solely based on its female gender. My parents were trailblazers and idealists – my father wanted daughters. When my little sister was born he threw a celebratory party that is highly uncustomary and dismayed their circle. My parents paid no mind to their critics and instilled urgency in my sister and to pave our own way all while championing gender equality. Women in India need support from our families, our communities, and our politicians to break free from oppressive gender stereotypes, to tackle sexual and domestic violence, and to move toward a more equitable society.