Jaishri Abichandani


Jaishri Abichandani is a Brooklyn-based artist and curator. Her interdisciplinary practice focuses on the intersection of art, feminism, and social practice. Abichandani was the founder of the South Asian Women's Creative Collective, with chapters in New York City and London, and director from 1997 until 2013. She was also the Founding Director of Public Events and Projects from at the Queens Museum from 2003-2006.

Early life and education

Abichandani was born in Mumbai, India, and was raised in Queens. Abichandani immigrated from Mumbai to Queens in 1984, when she was thirteen. She received a B.A. from Queens College, CUNY, an M.A. in Visual Arts from Goldsmiths College, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts from Goldsmiths College. She works in Brooklyn, New York.

Career

Abichandani's interdisciplinary practice includes creating objects, actions, writing, curating exhibitions, and collective production. Her multi-media sculptural works employ materials ranging from leather whips to jewels and often focuses on the female body and desire. Her work responds to feminist art history and involved nationhood critique, while referencing aesthetic theory from South Asia.

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Abidichandani founded the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective in New York City in 1997 and London in 2004, and served on the Board of Directors until 2013. SAWCC is a nonprofit arts organization focused on the advancement of, and creating a sense of community between, emerging and established South Asian women artists and creative professionals. Fourteen women, who were invited through community-based organizations such as Sakhi for South Asian Women and the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association, attended SAWCC’s first meeting in the offices of the Sister Fund and then began meeting monthly at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, providing a venue to exchange ideas and feedback on their creative work and network with other South Asian women artists.

Curatorial projects