An Interview with South Asian-American artist Sneha Bhavsar:
Our president, Paul G. Chandler, had the joy of interviewing the inspiring artist Sneha Bhavsar, whose family originates from South Asia, whom he first met at the Tagore Center Foundation in Houston, Texas. We believe you will find Sneha and her work highlighting the "beauty of difference" deeply encouraging.
“Art is the great connector, allowing us a moment to contemplate something beyond ourselves. As a creator, it serves as the bridge between the inner and outer worlds.”.”
Sneha Bhavsar
Sneha Bhavsar is a Houston based visual artist working through multiple mediums to highlight our human connections - across history, cultures and continents. Her paintings, public art installations, and handicrafts employ folk art motifs and culturally based textile patterns from Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. She utilizes traditional folk art techniques such as embroidery, papercutting and block printing to celebrate cultural heritage and history. Sneha’s South Asian background heavily inspires and guides both her professional artwork and personal endeavors in fostering an appreciation for inclusivity and cultural diversity.
Sneha’s work has been recognized and awarded commissions from the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the Houston Endowment, BIPOC Arts Network and Fund, and private organizations and individuals across the US. Her most recent works of public art have highlighted Houston area refugee and immigrant communities. Sneha continues to blend her love of creating art with her aspirations to serve her community. In January 2025, she was a recipient of the 2025 BANF Artist Awards.
She is the Director of Artistic Programming for House of Devi, serves as a Board member for Compassionate Houston, and is a founding member of the Compassion Through the Arts Program. Sneha has previously served as Vice Chair of the City of Bellaire Culture and Arts Board and Houston Children Give Back.
For more info:www.snehabhavsar.com
Instagram: @snehabhavsar.art
View a few short documentaries featuring Sneha Bhavsar:
-Houston MOCA (2023)
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Your art reflects an exploration of folk-art practices from diverse cultures. Can you tell us about where you grew up and how your upbringing has shaped your work as an artist?
Sneha: I was born and raised in northern California, spending my formative years in San Jose, at a time when our family was one of the few South Asian families to live in that city. I remember being one of three students of Indian heritage in my elementary, junior and high schools in the late 80’s and 90’s. Yet I was surrounded by a diverse cultural group of classmates from various countries, including Vietnam, Japan, Mexico, China and the Philippines. Because I was immersed in diversity, I was exposed to traditional cultural art from around the world. When visiting the homes of my friends, I was always drawn to traditional textiles, handicrafts and figurines from their home countries. The patterns, colors and shapes were automatically appealing to me, yet what fascinated me even more were the stories my friends’ parents would tell about each piece. The folk art held history, it held a memory of a moment, an experience, an ancestor. To me, folk art is storytelling, it's a way to connect. We get a glimpse into the history of a culture, in all its beauty, struggles and wisdom, with the hope of better understanding others and ourselves.
What first sparked your interest to create art? What formative influences have shaped your artistic life?
Sneha: I think creating art is encoded in my DNA. Three generations of matriarchs in my family had a passion for creating art, through drawing, embroidery, and quilting, skills my grandmother taught as an art teacher at an elementary school in India. As a kid, I remember visiting her home in Gujarat and having her point out all the pillow covers, blankets, and wall hangings that she had made by hand. Many of her sarees were also embellished with embroidery, mirror work, and beading that she had hand sewn.
After she retired, my grandmother moved to live with us in California. Her presence had a profound influence on my creative work. My grandmother taught me how to sew, knit, and embroider, while also encouraging me to draw and paint. When she was alive, my grandmother would save me embroidery thread remnants that she had collected from her projects. I used the remnants to create “The Dreamer,” an art piece to honor all the traditions, aspirations, values, and stories that are carried forward through our maternal lineage. I believe so much of my work is centered around the feminine and mother nature because of my strong connection to maternal figures in my family and their stories, which continue to live through their art.
As an artist, you use a variety of art forms in your work. Can you share with us what has inspired some of your ideas and what drives you to continue to experiment with different mediums?
Sneha: I am in a constant state of learning and experimentation when it comes to creating artwork. The greatest sources of inspiration for my creative practice, and life, come from my travels. I love learning about cultures, countries and people, and make a conscious effort to experience the traditions of each country I visit. Many of my art pieces are a combination or hybrid of traditional art techniques and themes from two cultures, serving as a reminder of our interconnectedness. On a trip to Vietnam, I remember walking into a lacquer handicraft shop and admiring the decorative use of eggshells on a soup bowl.
Taking inspiration from the innovative use of everyday materials, I returned home to create the “Storyteller” series of mosaic art pieces using eggshells to construct figures of classical Indian dancers. I felt the use of eggshells was a beautiful representation of the elements in classical Indian dance, which are simultaneously strong and fragile. Strong in the foot stomping movements and fragile in the expressions of delicate facial and hand gestures. As you can imagine, there are only so many eggs one human can eat, so I sent a message out to neighbors to please drop off any eggshells to my doorstep. The response was overwhelming, particularly from a baker who was thrilled to make good use of her discarded shells. I loved the resulting pieces, as well as the process that unfolded in creating them. With one tangible piece of art, a connection across time, cultures, and continents was unveiled. These pieces carried a traditional Vietnamese craft technique represented through figurative, classical Indian dance poses, with materials contributed by American families living in Houston, TX.
(L) The Storyteller, 2 2019 Eggshells, Acrylic on Canvas, 24” x 36”
(R)The Storyteller, 1 2017 Eggshells, Acrylic on Canvas, 30” x 15”
What has inspired you to create public art, as well as participate in collaborative projects? Also, can you share a few examples?
Sneha: Until a chance encounter 5 years ago, the thought of creating public art didn’t even enter my realm of possibility. I happened to be chatting with another Houston based artist at an event and they mentioned an opportunity to apply for a City of Houston Civic Art project for the Alief Neighborhood Center. Based on the themes of my artwork celebrating diverse cultures, they thought it would be a great fit, especially since Alief is one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the US. It turns out it was a great fit! Myself and two other female South Asian co-artists, Houston based artist Ami Mehta and Austin based artist Rakhee Jain Desai, were awarded the civic art project. Our team made a commitment to be as inclusive as possible, engaging neighborhood residents in creating art that truly represented the community that would be viewing it. We created hand painted textiles representing the neighborhood's multiculturalism and engaged a non-profit organization of female refugee sewists to add embroidery and stitching details to our sculptures. Residents were invited to write letters about their hopes for the future of Alief, and excerpts from their letters were transcribed and painted onto the sculptures. One of the most beautiful experiences of planning this collaborative, community engaged artistic project was witnessing people from different cultural backgrounds, professions, faith traditions, and generations each working together to contribute to the art piece.
Another public art project that created an opportunity for community interactions and connections was painting the alpona floor mural for the Tagore Memorial Grove. Multiple visitors to the park would stop by and chat about the significance of the flower of life mural, and show interest in learning more about Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophy and poetry(see Footnote). More often than not, these causal conversations would lead to an exchange on spirituality and our connection to the divine. The open and curious nature of these conversations has always remained a beautiful reminder of our ability to deeply connect and understand each other.
In what ways do you see art serving as the bridge?
Sneha: The figurative meaning of a bridge is: something that connects different people or things. Art is one of the most impactful ways to establish a connection between diverse people and ideologies. For me, the “art serving as a bridge” metaphor encompasses connections between something external, such as different cultural practices, as well as the internal, between me and the divine. I hope my work invites curiosity to learn more about a tradition or culture that looks different from one’s own while also recognizing similarities within their own cultural practices. Creating art has also allowed me to tap into my memories, my cultural roots, to better navigate the complex emotions of living between two cultures.
On another level, art has served as the bridge to divine expression. I view many of the ideas that come to me as ideas that are passing through me in order to reach others. I will hear from patrons that bought a painting years ago describe how it helped them through a difficult experience or inspired them to explore their own form of artistic expression. One of the eggshell pieces in particular resurrected the patron’s love for dance after an injury had left them frustrated and discouraged. I believe each creative work that takes form reaches the person(s) it needs to, a connection, a bridge is formed, to bring healing, joy, inspiration or whatever is needed.
Have you ever felt constrained as an artist? If so, can you share a little about that and also what has helped you?
Sneha: Yes, I have definitely felt constraints as an artist and with art that is culturally based. As a child of immigrants, I was encouraged to create art as a hobby, it was not encouraged as a profession. Although my childhood was full of artistic learning, I had the explicit understanding that it would not lead to financial stability. It took me a very long time, right into my late 30’s, to make the leap into pursuing art full time. There was a lot of fear and doubt that I needed to work through, and am still working through, before showing and selling my work publicly.
Another constraint I find is with general perceptions around culturally based art. Since much of my work is based in folk art and has South Asian influences, it is challenging to gain recognition from existing art spaces. Although recently, I have been encouraged by the changes I am seeing, especially with recognition of artists from diverse backgrounds exhibiting contemporary crafts. Locally, in Houston, there are very limited opportunities to showcase South Asian visual art and I’ve found it necessary to create the space for myself and other local South Asian artists to exhibit their work. Last year I helped develop an arts program for House of Devi, to specifically highlight regional South Asian artists through exhibits and events. We are currently planning our second arts event scheduled for September 2025.
I was drawn to your painting titled “Midnight Forest.” Can you tell us about its message and composition?
Sneha: “Midnight Forest” was created when I first started the practice of meditation. It’s representative of that moment when I first close my eyes, where there is still plenty of activity happening, a flurry of thoughts and images, and eventually the void creeps in. The patterns within the stalks are all inspired from mehndi designs, which I've always been drawn to. The title appealed to me because it references the peak growth of forest trees, which happens right after midnight. I felt being in meditation was similar, where the most inner growth happens in the dark. It's wonderful to revisit the image of this painting. It’s a reminder of how much my meditation practice has evolved since then, almost 10 years ago!
Can you share with us what you are working on artistically at this time?
Sneha: Currently, I am exploring various embroidery and stitching techniques to add storytelling and textural elements to my paintings. Embroidery is one of the oldest forms of textile arts and is prevalent in multiple cultures. It has served as a decorative element as well as a way to pass down history and stories through generations. I have been researching embroidery’s ancient roots and experimenting with the various embroidery styles that are unique to Asia, the Middle East, and Central America.
I plan to incorporate a few of these learned techniques and patterns into a public art project I am working on, with my artist collaborator, Rakhee Jain. The public installation is a large-scale textile mural for a new 9,000 sq ft Textile Lab and Entrepreneurship Center in Houston. The center is located in the Gulfton area, which is a destination for many immigrants and refugee families from all over the world. I will be stitching elements on our mural alongside immigrant and refugee women from a local sewing co-op. This current project is a beautiful modern example of the historical importance sewing circles served in many cultures in strengthening community by sharing skills and support.
(L) Stories Incarnate Digital Exhibition - Animation and Audio, 2023, 50” Digital Scree, 4K HDR; Headphones
-6 refugee interviews and visual stories from Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iraq and Cambodia.
(R) DETAIL - Stories Incarnate Digital Exhibition - Animation and Audio, 2023, 50” Digital Screen, 4K HDR, Headphones
Detail - text descriptions of each of the 6 refugee’s stories followed by the audio and animation visual storytelling featuring each refugee.
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Footnote: Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was as a Bengali poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter, who in 1913 won the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first non-European to do so.