“Graffiti for me is all about letters and words. Words have a lot of meaning in themselves but what happens when the words you write also have unforgettable visual impact? This is Graffiti. It’s powerful,” says Sneha.[break]
Her style is a unique blend of Nepali alphabets which are influenced by Turkish calligraphy. She’s coined this as NepaliGraffi. “When I discovered stylizing Nepali letters to contribute to the graffiti art form, there was no looking back,” she shares.
Sneha was introduced to this art form by a friend and mentor ProBlak, an established graffiti artist in Boston. She got hooked onto graffiti and street art when she was working in Boston as a mentoring artist in painting. But art has always been important to this individual who has recently come back home and shared with Kathmandu city some of her artistic identity. Amongst all the artwork that she’s already made in the streets, nooks and crannies of Kathmandu, two of her graffiti pieces can be spotted giving life to the Baluwatar area. She’s also painted hope with her graffiti in the burnt front face of the Pilgrim’s Book House in Thamel that caught fire a few months ago.
“I was interested in promoting art, literacy, my country and culture, and I was trying to make sense of it all. Graffiti connected all the dots together for me,” says Sneha. Ever since she can remember, she has loved painting. Today, she holds a Bachelors degree in Studio Art and another Bachelors degree in Globalization Studies. She’s lived abroad for seven years, studying, making art in Bali and studying about international organizations in Geneva. But, Nepal has always been important to her. Sneha has already established a children’s library in Nepal back in 2011, with the grant from the Kathryn Davis Foundation which she had applied for. She also has raised funds for the library by publishing three children’s books for Nepali children. She also has a t-shirt line MO:MO: NATION which helps sustain the same cause.
“Working as a young professional in the art field, I was exploring what my experiences meant in a new phase of my life and more importantly what it meant for my art work. All my experiences so far have led me to this and it feels right. Being the first person to write in Nepali in the graffiti scene and introduce my culture to the world is truly an honor,” she adds.
When talking about her street identity as ‘Imagine’, Sneha shares, “When I started painting on the walls, I thought of a tag name for myself. I picked ‘Kalpana’ or ‘Imagination’ because that’s my mom’s name. The first drawings I ever made were with her. Everything she stands for and has withstood in her life inspires me.”
Apart from sharing positivity and hope through her art, Sneha is also playing her part in fulfilling the social responsibility as an artist. “I have always wanted my art to do something and reach out to as many people as possible regardless of their background or age. Hence, this personal need for art morphed into social change over time. Art for me is not just my street pieces or canvases but also a wider variety of visual material,” says Sneha.
Adding to what she’s already achieved, Sneha has recently been awarded with the Advancing Leaders Fellowship through World Learning which will allow her to bring to life the Nepal’s Children Art Museum (NCAM), a first of its kind for the country.
The project developed in March 2009 while writing a grant proposal for Projects for Peace funded by the Kathryn Davis Foundation, for the library. While the library got the Kathryn Davis Foundation grant, the idea of the children’s art museum still remained with Sneha as a definite future project. “The goal was to provide sustainable resources to encourage literacy and provide an opportunity for Nepali youth to express their hopes and dreams through an educational and creative outlet,” she informs, adding, “The idea of having an art space for children is something that I know I would’ve appreciated as a child.”
Set to officially open in the next three months, NCAM will be a space where young people can reflect on their culture amidst all the instability in the country and explore their love for art. In the future, it also hopes to be a platform through which young artists can create art jobs. “Nepal needs its future leaders to be creative and educated and NCAM will contribute to this,” claims Sneha.
NCAM will be a two-room facility with an exhibition space and an ‘Imagination Room’ with a mini-theater and free art supplies to drop in and use to make art and participate in workshops. The first workshop for children will be held in October and it will be followed by an exhibition of the work of the first batch of participants.
Sneha’s dream is also one which she shares for the development of art and education in Nepal. The grand vision for NCAM is to establish itself as a resource for art and education in the country.
“I look forward to support from artists, teachers and community organizations to make this happen and I am very excited about it,” she beams.
Her enthusiasm, determination and passion for art and education create a whole new vista for art and education in Nepal. But this is just the beginning of a world of art and imagination that Sneha carries with her in her heart and head for Nepal.
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