Ph.D National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology New Delhi, India 2001
M.F.A. M.S. University of Baroda, Art History and Aesthetics, Faculty of Fine Arts Vadodara, India 1995
B.F.A. M.S. University of Baroda, Art History and Aesthetics, Faculty of Fine Arts Vadodara, India 1993
Solo - Exhibitions and Performance works
2023 Sorry Not Sorry, Wander Women 3, curated by Rea Lynn de Guzman, The Katz Synder Gallery, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF), CA, March 3o 2018 Open Ended, Counterpulse, San Francisco, CA, September 13 - November 6
2016 Soliloquy – Hungry Ghosts Curated Michelle A. Lee, Performance work, I-Hotel Manilatown Center Gallery, San Francisco, CA, April 2 2014 Soliloquy – Featured, Curated by Weston Teruya, Performance work at Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA, February 15 2013 Soliloquy – Kitsch-in, Curated by Amy Cancelmo, Richard Rinehart, and Julie Sutherland, Performance work at Root Division, San Francisco, April 12
2010 Crossing the Hyphen, Curated by Demetri Broxton, Addison Street Window Gallery, Berkeley, CA, May 31 - July 9
2010 Artistic Transformations, Curated by Neal Tomye Madison, Malonga Center for the Arts, Oakland, CA, June 7 - August 9
A Traveling Tale, Gallery Route One, Point Reyes Station, CA, April 2 - May 9 Inner Eye, Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery, San Ramon, CA, August 1 - August 31
Selected Group Exhibitions and Collaborative Performance works
2026 The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness, Catherine G. Murphy Gallery at St. Catherine University, St. Paul, Minnesota, September 12-December 12, upcoming
Lineages of Organizing: The Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center at 30, Curated by Colin Choy Kimzey, SOMArts, April 23, 2026, to May 24
Legacy- Artists with Asian Roots, Curated by Na Omi Judy Shintani, Kistsune, Community Studio, Half Moon Bay, CA, May 3 – June 7
2025 Saari Baat(the whole Story), Collaborative Art Performance, Lindsy Dirkx Brown Gallery, San Ramon, CA The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness, Maccoll Art Center, Charlotte, NC, May 22- June 28
Brown Palms, Yellow Balms: Reinventing Caregivers of Color, Curated by O.M. France Viana SOMArts Gallery, San Francisco, CA, April 24–May 25
2024 Presence of: Collective Histories of the Asian American Women Artists Association, Curated by Christina Hiromi Hobbs, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA, January 27- April 20
The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness, South Asia Institute, Chicago, IL, January 19 - April 27
2023 Social Memory: Sites of Remembrance, South Asian Creative Collective, New York, NY curated by Shilpi Chandra, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Blackburn 20/20 Gallery, March 16- April 19
Jade Wave Rising: Portraits of Power, Asian American Women Artists Association, Curated by Yea Q Nguyen, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA, April 27 – May 21
About Face, Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA, April 15 – June 25
Stories Of US, CCA Faculty Exhibition, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA, August 30-October 20
2022 Water is Thicker than Blood, Curated by Rachel Poonsiriwong, Root Division, San Francisco, CA January 7 - February 12
2020 Wander Women 2, Curated by Rea Lynn de Guzman, SF Camerawork , San Francisco, April 22 - June 2
Resisting Incarceration Culture: Art as Survival, Curated by Malic Amalya, Annah Anti-Palindrome, & Michael Washington Oliver Art Center, Oakland, CA, January 21 - January 30
Radical Imagination: Gender Justice Show, by Sakhi for South Asian Women, Online, August 22nd
2019 Agrarianna, Curated by Michelle Lee, Diana Li, and Erina C. Alejo, SOMArts, San Francisco, May 2 - May 23
Wonder Woman, Curated by Rea Lynn de Guzman, Root Division, San Francisco, January 12 - February 9
Sorry No Sorry: Sari on Mind and Body, Root Division, San Francisco, CA, collaborative performance with Shailaja Dixit, February 9
2018 Reclaimed Baggage, Curated by Nirmal Raja, Northern Illinois University Museum, DeKalb, IL, March 27 - May 18
Home, Diversity Studies Faculty Show, Oliver Art Center, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA, April 9 - April 20
2017 Shifting Movements, Curated by Michelle Lee, SOMArts, San Francisco, May 4 - 25
Transformations, Curated by Michelle Lee, Firehouse Gallery, Pleasanton, CA, July 30 - September 3
2016 Declarations for the New Year, Curated by Michele Carlson, Weston Teruya, and Nate Watson, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, January 9 - January 30
Resistance, Curated by Pamela Yabnez, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA, May 6 - May 26
Rain Percussions, Curated by Margaret Niven, Radius Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA, March 23 - May 8
2015 Hungry Ghosts, Curated Michelle A. Lee, I-Hotel Manilatown Center Gallery, San Francisco, April 2 - April 29
Women in Art ~ Herstories, Curated by Jan Marlese, LH Horton Jr. Gallery, Stockton, CA, February 26 - March 27
2014 Eating Cultures, Curated by Michelle Lee, SOMArts, Asian American Women Artist Association, San Francisco, May 1 - May 30
Disconnect, Northern California Women's Caucus for Art, Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA, June 6 - July 19
Our American Stories, Asian American Artists Exhibition, Curated by Judy Shintani, Madeleine Haas Russell Gallery, Rosenberg Library City College of San Francisco, March 15 - September 26
2013 The Photographic Self, Curated by Carla Williams, Women Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, September 6 - October 24
HerStory, Curated by Jaishree Abhichandani, South Asian Creative Collective, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA, May 28 - August 24
UnderCurrents and the Quest for Space, Curated by Linda Inson Choy, Asian American Woman Artist Association, SOMArts, San Francisco, May 2 - May 29
2012 Nomad, Kearny Street Workshop 40th Anniversary show, Manilatown Center, San Francisco, September 28 - December 14
It’s Personal, Curated by Linda Inson Choy, Los Gatos Museum of Art, Los Gatos, CA, October 17 - December 7
Her Story, Queens Museum of Arts, New York, August 11 - October 7
The Future is Now: Asian America on its own terms, Curated by Jen Banta and Pamela Wu, SOMArts, San Francisco, May 3 - May 23
Arts of Asia Pacific Show, Asian American Women Artists Association, Fort Mason, San Francisco, February 3 - 4
2011 Erasing Borders, curated by Vijay Kumar, Indo-American Art Council, New York, NY, Galleries: Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY; Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University, NY; Aicon Gallery, New York, NY; Jorgensen Gallery, Storrs, Ct., March 19 - December 9
A Place of her Own, curated by Cynthia Tom, SomaArts, San Francisco, May 5 - May 26
The Living Past: Innovating Tradition in the Arts, Curated by Lydia Nakashima Degarrod and Deirdre Visser, California College of Integral Studies, San Francisco, October 28 - January 9
2010 Blue Planet, Curated by Avinger Nelson, Women's Caucus for the Arts, SOMArts, San Francisco, June 19 - June 26
If Not Now, When, Organized by Creative Modern Activism, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI, June 25 - September 26
2009 Cultural Memory: Transdiasporic Practices, Curated by Pritika Chowdhry, Women Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, September 4 - October 10 A Place of Her Own, Curated by Cynthia Tom, Asian American Women Artist Association, SOMArts, San Francisco, September 20 - October 6
Erasing Borders, a traveling show, Curated by Vijay Kumar, Indo-American Art Council, New York, NY, March 3 - December 13 Galleries: Dowd Fine Art Gallery, State University of New York College at Cortland, NY Crossing Art, Asian Contemporary Art Week (ACW), Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Project Space, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY Gallery at Penn College, Williamsport, PA
2008 APAture 2008, Curated by Lucy Kalyani Lin, Kearny Street Workshop, San Francisco, September 18 - September 27
Rods and Cones: Seeing from the Back of One’s Head, Curated by Radhika Subramaniam, South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC), Abrons Center, New York, August 7 - August 28
Local Voices, Bedford Art Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA, June 2- - August 31
2007 APAture 2007, Kearny Street Workshop, San Francisco, September 18 - September 29
Flash Flood International Video Art Festival, Curated by Brookhart Jonquil, The Museum for Polydimensional Research, Tucson, AZ, August 4
Bhakti Ball of Love, Collaborative Performance, Adobe Art Center, Castro Valley, CA, February 15
Scholastic Honors/Fellowship/Awards:
The Sheridan Prize for Art, (Regional Art Prize) San Francisco, CA 2026
Creative Citizen in Action Micro Grant San Francisco, CA California College of the Arts Spring 2022
Creative Citizen in Action Micro Grant San Francisco, CA California College of the Arts Spring 2021
Artist Power Convening Grant San Francisco, CA Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Community Art workshop, 2021
Junior Research Grant Fellowship, Ph.D. Thesis New Delhi, India Indian Council of Historical Research 1998 - 1999
Research Grant Fellowship, “Rasalila Performances of Braja Bhumi” New Delhi, India Abraham Alkazi Foundation 1996 - 1997
Junior Research Fellowship, “Rasalila Paintings” New Delhi, India Lalit Kala Akademi 1995 - 1996
Non-Teaching Professional Employment:
Art Coordinator, Community Public Art Project San Ramon, CA San Ramon Social Justice Collective 2020 - 2021
H&S Divisional Curator, Commencement Exhibition San Francisco , CA California College of the Arts Spring 2020
Jury Panel Member, ‘Bandung to the Bay’ Art Show Oakland, CA Oakland Cultural Center 2022 Art Consultant and Owner San Ramon, CA Art Core, an art consulting firm specializing in South Asian contemporary art 2008 - present
Professional Activities - General and Scholarly:
Books Koltar Ke Paer (Feet of Coal-Tar), A collection of 81 poems with drawings, Published by Antika Prakashan, Gazihabad, India, 2022
Kacha Rang (Raw Colors)A collection of drawings and 94 poems in Hindi Published by Yash Publication, New Delhi, India, 2018
Chapters in Books “Dancing in Circles: Representation of Radha in Rasalila, Performance of Brajbhumi,” for Cult of the Goddess, edited by Dr. Arputharani Sengupta, published by D K Printworld, New Delhi, India, pg. 372-384, 2015 (invited)
Essays in Art Journals “Kala Sansaar ke Sawaal,” (Questions of the Art World), Samkalin Kala Journal, Lalit Kala Akademi, Editor: Jyotish Joshi, New Delhi, India, pg. 50-52, 1996, (invited)
“Jyoti Bhatt aur Chhaya Chitra ki Kala” (Jyoti Bhatt and the Art of Photography), Samkalin Kala, Lalit Kala Akademi, Editor: Jyotish Joshi, New Delhi, India, Pg. 53-57, 1996 (invited)
Creative Writings Hindi Jagat: Literary Magazine, Hindi, published by World Hindi Foundation Inc., pg. 40, January - March Issue, 2020
Hindi Jagat: Literary Magazine, Hindi, published by World Hindi Foundation Inc., pg. 48, 6 poems, January - March Issue, 2018
Samalochan Literary (a literary e-magazine, Hindi), Edited by Arun Dev, Manglacharan section, 2017
Hindi Jagat: Literary Magazine, Hindi, published by World Hindi Foundation Inc., 3 poems, pg. 16, April - June Issue, 2014
Encounters: An Easy Writers Anthology, Infinity Limited, Castro Valley, CA, pg. 2010
Publications in Progress Krishnalila Text, Performances andPaintings from Brajabhumi
Selected Personal Bibliography:
Stanford Radio KZSU 90.1FM, interview with Pranjali Sirasao, November 2022
“Open E.A.RS for Change, Episode 4, podcast interview by Pamela Ybanez, Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Oakland CA, July 2022 LA Times, Art that points toward a sustainable future in the middle of a climate crisis by Timesoc staff, The Anthropocene Epiphany: Art and Climate Change, July 2021
Handa, Robert. NBC Bay Area’s “Asian Pacific America,” Interview, Dhai Akhar: Seeded in Love, 2021
(un)making. Art Practical. Podcasts - 2017-2019. Episode 15 (un)making was an interview-based podcast series produced through Art Practical. Each episode featured conversations with artists, cultural workers, or arts administrators of color in which they discussed their work, how they got to where they are in their careers, and how they situate their practices in the world at large.
Degarrod, Lydia Nakashima. “Searching for Catalyst and Empowerment: The Asian American Women Artist Association, 1989 - Present,” in Entering the Picture: Judy Chicago, The Fresno Feminist Art Program, and the Collective Visions of Women Artists (New Directions in American History) ed. by Jill Fields, Routledge Publication, pg. 253, 2012
Burke, Sarah. East Bay Express, “Not Alone” Review, January 29, 2014 Lutzker, Mary-Ann Milford. “Traveling Tale: Recent works of Pallavi Sharma” Essay, Art Show Catalog, April, 2009
Affiliation and Positions:
Women Caucus for Arts 2014 - 2016 Member Association for Asian Studies 2006 - 2017, Member Art Core, Art Consulting Firm 2009 - present Art Consultant and Director
Service on Public or Non-Profit Boards: Advisory Board Member San Francisco, CA
Inner Eye Arts, Founder and Director, Non-Profit Arts Organization, dedicated to Asian American Arts 2010 - present Art Advisory Board of the City of San Ramon, Chairperson San Ramon, CA 2004 – 2009 Asian American Women Artist Association 2009- 2021, Board of Directors, San Francisco, CA
Curatorial Projects:
"Saari Baat: Untold Stories of Resilience", October 5th to October 25th, 2025 Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery, San Ramon, CA. Participating Artists: Ellen Bepp, Cynthia Brannvall, Rea Lynn de Guzman, Kathy Fujii-Oka, Reiko Fujii, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Namita Paul, Nirmal Raja, Shailly Sharma Bhatnagar, Na Omi Judy Shintani, Badri Valian & Kathryn Vercillo, Irene Wibawa, Maggie Yee
“Voices of Freedom: Asian American Narrative", October 6 - October 26, 2024 Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery, San Ramon, CA Participating Artists: Shailly Sharma Bhatnagar, Ruth Tabancay, Reiko Fujii, Rea Lynn de Guzman, Pamela Ybañez, Manu Kaur, Maggie Yee, Kiana Honarmand, Irene Wibawa, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Ellen Bepp & Community art participants
Open Circle: Belonging, Self and Community Care, September 5 - October 28, 2022 Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery San Ramon, CA Participating Artists: Barnali Ghosh, Nirmal Raja, Kathy Fujii-Oka, Namita Paul, Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, Reiko Fujii, Betty Nobue Kano, Shailly Sharma Bhatnagar, Irene Wibawa, Manon Wada, Maggie Yee and Reiko Fujii
Dhai Akhar: Seeded in Love August 3 - August 28, 2021 Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery San Ramon, CA Participating Artists: Ellen Bepp, Shailly Sharma Bhatnagar, Orin Carpenter, Gene Dominique, Reiko Fujii, Indrani Nayar Gall, Nirmal Raja, Valerie Brown Troutt, Orlonda Uffre Fan Lee Warren, Irene Wibawa, TheArthur Wright
Dhai Akhar: Seeded in Love 2020 Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery Online Participating Artists: Ellen Bepp, Shailly Sharma Bhatnagar, Lydia Nakashima Degarrod Reiko Fujii, Indrani Nayar Gall, Nirmal Raja, Irene Wibawa
Samay ka Sach October 6, 2019 Nupoor Studios, Artist Presentation and Demonstration by Shyam Sharma Dublin, CA
Primordial Spaces, February 1 - April 20, 2019 Asian Resource Center Gallery, A Solo Exhibit of Prints by Shyam Sharma Oakland, CA
Grounds for Change, October 3 - October 29, 2018 Village Theater Gallery, Group exhibition with panels, performances Danville, CA website, and full-color catalog Participating Artists: Alka Raghuram, Lenore Chinn, Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, Reiko Fujii, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Shailly Sharma, Irene Wibawa, Scott Tsuchitani, Nirmal Raja & Lois Bielefeld, Bhatnagar
(Re)Call: Counternarratives: Asian American Narratives, October 3 - October 29, 2018 Lindsay Dirx Brown Gallery San Ramon, CA Participating Artists: Lenore Chinn, Scott Tsuchitani, Shailly Sharma, Ellen Bepp, Irene Wibawa, Nirmal Raja & Lois Bielefeld, Bhatnagar, Reiko Fujii
Grounds for Change, October 3 - October 29, 2017 Lindsay Dirx Brown Gallery San Ramon, CA Group exhibition with panels, performances, website, and full-color catalog Participating Artists: Alka Raghuram, Lenore Chinn, Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, Reiko Fujii, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Shailly Sharma, Bhatnagar, Irene Wibawa, and Julie Tran
Liquid Stories, October 3 - October 29, 2017 Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery San Ramon, CA Participating Artists: Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, Nirmal Raja, Indrani Nayar Gall, Judy, Shintani, Samantha Chundur, Shailly Sharma Bhatnagar, Kelsay Myers, Reiko Fujii, Irene Wibawa, Shari DeBoer and Salma Arastu
Asian American Narratives, October 3 - October 29, 2016 Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery San Ramon, CA Participating Artists: Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, Nirmal Raja, Indrani Nayar Gall, Judy, Shintani, Shailly Sharma Bhatnagar, Reiko Fujii, Irene Wibawa, Shari DeBoer and Salma Arastu
2026 Traveling Tale: Recent works of Pallavi Sharma , Guest lecture - Ethnic Studies Department, UC Berkeley, CA, April 8
2025 Featured Guest Speaker, "Creative-2025 International Interdisciplinary Art symposium, Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, India, February 24 to February 26
2024 Traveling Tale: Recent works of Pallavi Sharma , Guest lecture - Ethnic Studies Department, UC Berkeley, CA, April 4
2023 Hyphenated Self: Asian American identity, Guest lecture - Ethnic Studies Department, UC Berkeley, CA, April 21
Reading from Koltar kePaer (Feet of Coal-Tar), Patna, Delhi, June 10-13, 2023
2022 Reading from Koltar ke Paer (Feet of Coal-Tar), Terrace Hall, San Ramon, CA, October 15
Asian American Art, Guest lecture- Patna College of Arts, Patna, India, June 15
2021 Reclaimed Baggage, Artist Talk, South Asian Women Arts collective, online, July 10
2020 Monca Artist Conversation-Safe Haven, Museum of Northern California Art, Chico, CA, Online, June 27
Wander Women 2, Artist Talk and presentation Event by SF camerawork, API Cultural Center, SF and Rea Lyn de Guzman in conjunction with Women Art 2 show at SF camerawork, Online, June 6
2019 Baroda School of Art, Guest lecture - South Asian Art IIV: Early to Modern & Contemporary, San Francisco State Contemporary, San Francisco State University, CA, October 2
Crossing the Hyphen, Guest lecture - Ethnic Studies Program, UC Berkeley, CA, April 9
2018 Traveling Tale: My recent body of works, Bay Area Conversations, Guest Speaker – “Arts of South Asia and its Diasporas” Symposium, UC Berkeley, CA, October 26
Grounds for Change, Curator’s Talk - Village Theater Art Gallery, Danville, CA, October 7
(Re)Call: Counternarratives, Curator’s Talk - Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery, San Ramon, CA, October 6
Visiting Artist, Personal is Political: My recent body of works in the context of gender and ethnicity, Guest lecture - Department of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley, CA, April 10
Carry On: Reclaiming the Baggage, Panel Discussion - NIU Art Museum, Northern Illinois University, March 29
2017 ASAP/9: The Arts for the Present Conference, Artists as Migrants/Migrants as Artists, Oakland, CA, October 28
San Jose Poetry Festival, Featured Poet – Poetry Center, San Jose, October 21
Liquid Stories: Asian American Narratives, Curator’s Talk - Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery, San Ramon, CA, October 7
Community as a Studio: my recent collaborative works, Guest lecture - Department of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley, CA, April 10
2016 Hindu Belief and Practices in India, Guest lecture - California College of the Arts, CA, April 26
Dreams and Visions: The Art of Saoras, Guest lecture - California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA, March 7
2015 Intersections: Asian American Narratives, Curator’s talk - Lindsay Dirkx Brow Gallery, San Ramon, CA, February 7
Mixed Media Art for Healing and Transformation, Presentation - Narika, Fremont, CA, October 17
Asian American Voices of Resistance and Change, Guest Lecture - Department of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley, CA, April 23
