Educator - Tanvi Kulkarni

Teaching Philosophy:

As an artist and art educator, I believe in expression through art. I make art to explore more about myself. I work with the concept of belonging and home in my artwork. My work provides a conceptual representation of the place and the emotional connection with space.

I create art to describe, overcome, and accept my emotions. This is my connection with art and I would like to share this with others and help others to find their own connections with art.

I believe in learning from sharing and sharing from learning. Being with the community and learning about and through their experiences through artmaking provides a new perspective on choices and life. Art supports personal breakthroughs.

Early in my life, I was introduced to a variety of Indian Art forms like Warli Painting, Rangoli (sand art), Heena, and Madhubani. I have learned Indian classical singing, Bharatnatyam (Indian classical dance), and Indian instruments like Tabala and Harmonium. In Spring 2019, I went to Jerusalem, Israel to study glass blowing, glass casting, and ceramics. My artworks tend to contain mixed media.

Different mediums allow me to express myself and my subjects in various ways. Art has helped and continues to help me with my transition from India to the USA, Ireland, and Israel and, allow me to express. It gives me a voice; even in the instance that I could not speak the country’s language. I would like to spread this language which does not have barriers for expression.

I am born and brought up in India and I came to the USA for my BFA. I belong to a big family that comes from the middle class in India, where earning money, is the first choice in deciding which career path to choose. I have observed that most of my family members are not able to chase their hobbies as a career which affected their mental health. They are pursuing those after retirement.

I saw my family members are doing what they love it does not matter when in their lives. And now I am pursuing my passion for art and psychology as my career. I would like all people to find their stress-reliever. I believe art has always been part of our lives and because of that sometimes we forget the importance and value of it. I want to work for different communities and connect the world through art.

I have a passion for conducting “Art workshops” with a diverse community. In the future, I want to work with elderly people, mainly with people who are recovering from mental illness because I believe art is one of the accessible and effective therapies that help in overcoming various kinds of barriers.

Everybody has a right to live on their own terms. Art allows us to express things that we may not be able to express through words.

Check out my work and journals: https://www.mcadteachingartists.org/