Sheelasha Rajbhandari, (; born 1988,
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
) is a Nepalese visual artist, curator, and cultural organizer. Her artwork examines alternative narratives through folk tales, oral traditions, myths, material culture, performances and rituals, and presents them as counterpoints to mainstream history and narratives. She often seeks to challenge social taboos and patriarchal discourses by focusing on women's struggles and celebrating their resilience. Her long-term research plans and artistic practice often synthesize knowledge and experiences gained as a result of individual and collective discourses. Rajbhandari is also a curator noted for her contributions to the Kathmandu Triennale 2077 and first Nepal Pavilion, at the 59th International Art Exhibition –
La Biennale di Venezia in 2022. In 2013, she co-founded the art collective Artree Nepal alongside Hit Man Gurung, Subas Tamang, Mekh Limbu, and Lavkant Chaudhary.
Work and career
She completed her MFA from
Tribuvan University in 2014.
Engaged in women's experiences, Rajbhandari's practice seeks to counter how women's agency and physicality are becoming contested political sites for contemporary nation-states. Her recent works also examine the transformation of Nepal's current transformation from a major center of Himalayan trade to a geopolitical situation between two emerging world powers, India and China.
Exhibitions
Her installation in the traveling exhibition
A beast, a god and a line (2018–2020) has been presented at
Para Site, Hong Kong; TS1, Yangon;
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, Warsaw; Kunsthall, Trondheim; and MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai. She has also been an artist in residence at the Bellas Artes Projects (2019) and Para Site (2017). She has furthermore exhibited at
Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2022),
Weltmuseum Wien (2019);
Serendipity Arts Festival
Serendipity Arts Festival is an annual arts festival held in Panaji, Goa over a week in late December. It was founded in 2016 by Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman of Hero Enterprise. It is the only arts festival in the country whose programming spans m ...
, Goa (2017); an
Kathmandu Triennale(2017). As a part of her collective she has been a part of
Dhaka Art Summit (2020) and
Biennale of Sydney (2020).
Collections
Rajbhandari's art is represented in private and institutional collections such as
*
Kadist
Kadist is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts organization with an international contemporary art collection. In addition to being a collecting body, Kadist hosts artists residencies and produces exhibitions, publications, and public events. ...
*
Samdani Art Foundation
The Samdani Art Foundation is a private art foundation founded in 2011 in Dhaka, Bangladesh that aims to increase artistic engagement between the art and architecture of Bangladesh and the rest of the world.
It is best known for producing the bi- ...
*
Weltmuseum Wien
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajbhandari, Sheelasha
1988 births
Living people
Artists from Kathmandu
Nepalese artists
Nepalese women artists
Nepali women curators
Nepali curators
Tribhuvan University alumni