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ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS > Visual > South
Asian
Asha-Aditi Ruparelia | Her ancestors
migrated to East Africa in the 1900s from Porbandar, Gujarat,
India. She was born in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and brought up
in Jinja, Uganda (the source of River Nile). Later she moved to
the United Kingdom to pursue her master's degree in Textile and
Knitwear Design and Technology. In 1977, Asha-Aditi joined her
husband, a practicing dentist, in Winnipeg. Having an affinity
to belong to a larger South Asian community, and to seek better
professional opportunities, they decided to reside in Toronto.
Asha-Aditi's two children are qualified professionals, both born
and raised in Toronto.
When Asha-Aditi first arrived
to Canada, her credentials were not respected; moreover, she was
forced take on a low-paying manufacturing job, despite possessing
a master's degree. Nevertheless, within a short time she was promoted
to position of designer and later, in 1989, progressed to be the
director of product design and development for private brand apparel
and knitwear products with the Hudson's Bay Company. This role
involved counselling over 45 Bay and Zellers buyers; establishing
standards; procedures, identifying trends in fashion and colour;
providing design and technical support to global suppliers expanding
their manufacturing facilities.
In 1998, Asha-Aditi's 30 years
of experience as textile technologist and design specialism began
to be recognized and sought out by university faculties focused
in this area of study. Memorial University in Newfoundland hired
her as a consultant/advisor in Small Business curriculum development,
whilst Ryerson University hired Asha-Aditi as a trainer and consultant
to teach in the Faculty of Fashion design, which she still continues
to do at present.
Explorations with Art
With the textile industry diminishing,
Asha-Aditi decided to take her artistic spirit and experience
into a new genre of art-making. Inspired by her journey of life,
culture, traditions and heritage, Asha-Aditi pushes boundaries
between tradition and innovation with her mix-media pieces of
art, and creates her own unique artistic techniques to not only
to explore new ways to formulate design, colour, structure and
texture, but to also to express story and poetry through her expressions
of art. She expresses into her work her deep rooted spirituality;
the ultimate mystery and beauty of life as well as explores persistence
of things in the world, such as water, sky, earth and people,
to all become symbols of endurance and timeless journey - hence
Asha-Aditi's maxim - Timeless Art & Design.
Asha-Aditi's volunteer work
has made immeasurable contributions to various multicultural communities,
organizations, hospitals, schools and individuals within the GTA.
She has served on the Ontario Crafts Council and York Region Arts
Council. She sits on the steering committee of Municipal Cultural
Planning and on the York Region Inclusivity Action Plan and Social
Service Network. Asha-Aditi is a recipient of the Governor General's
Award for 15 years of volunteer service from the Minister of Citizenship.
Currently, she teaches Art in the Ward at the Stouffville Hospital,
Markham, Ontario.
Her recent works and exhibits
include:
Theme Art: Paintings |
As a member of the Association of African Canadian Artists, Asha-Aditi
presented her paintings collection in 'COLOURblind International' affiliated with
Caribana Festival; the theme art exhibition, 'Roots to Rhythm',
installed at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in July-August 2008;
and she has been selected to exhibit in the Caribana ROM 'Beyond
Rhythm' theme exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in July 2009.
Asha-Aditi's 'Roots to Rhythm'
collection aesthetically linked her African history by striving
to document and educate the audience about the rich culture and
heritage. By bringing to canvas the differences, histories, traditions
and struggles, she demonstrated her unique artistic ability.
Asha-Aditi's other theme collections
have been presented in COLOURblind International, the annual theme
art traveling exhibition installed at several art galleries in
Toronto, such as 'Breaking down the barriers of discrimination'
at the Spin Gallery, Toronto, 2006; and 'Mask' collection at The
Blue Dot Gallery in the Historic Distillery District of Toronto,
2007.
'Rangoli'- Indian Folk
Floor Art |
Rangoli is a traditional Indian folk floor-art typically installed
at the entrances of Hindu temples and homes during times of celebration
and religious festivals in South Asia and now in Canada.
Asha-Aditi's oversized outdoor floor arts, Rangolis, have been
displayed at the Luminat'Eau Festival, Harbourfront, Toronto (June
2008); at 'Sharing Our Traditions' festival at the Spadina Museum,
Toronto (November 2008); and at the Winterlicious Festival at
'Spice Route Restaurant' (February 2009).
At the Luminat'Eau festival
at Toronto's Harbourfront, Asha-Aditi exhibited an oversized (10x10
ft) outdoor Rangoli, using predominately reused and recycled materials.
This eco-cultural piece of art was crafted using a combination
of used cardboard, wrapping/tissue paper, beer bottle caps, cardboard
cylinders from the inside of empty toilet rolls and kitchen napkin
rolls, inside of photographic film roll winder, kitchen aluminum
foil, stones and pebbles, compact discs (cds), marbles, beads
from old jewelry, artificial flowers, yarn etc.
Asha-Aditi's design for this
Rangoli piece was inspired by one of her paintings, titled "Unity
is Divinity." This Rangoli is made up of several lotus petals
within, which various religious faiths symbols are embedded. The
artistic floral display of the world's major religious symbols
results in a profound interaction between the viewer and the art,
in a way that stimulates an inner experience of deep compassion,
joy, and acceptance. Moreover, it will encourage the Canadian
multicultural citizens to keep open pathways for mutual understanding
and acceptance between people of different faiths.
With positive responses towards
her "Unity is Divinity" Rangoli design, Panorama India
invited Asha-Aditi to install this particular Rangoli at the "Sharing
Our Traditions" exhibit at Toronto's Spadina Museum, using
a different set of artistic materials such as puffed rice, lentils,
flowers, paint, and candles.
The buzz behind Asha-Aditi's
Rangoli artwork has been spreading not only amongst Toronto's
art community, but also among the larger community, including
business owners. Liberty Entertainment Group and recently, the
Spice Route Restaurant, have employed her to showcase her Rangoli
in the foyer of the restaurant during the Winterlicious Festival,
using an array of Indian spices as her material.
To view the artwork, visit www.ashaditi.com
or contact info@ashaditi.com.
Samples of artwork can also be
viewed in PowerPoint format (MS
PowerPoint 2007 required)
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