Studio Director & Artist

Monica Srivastava (b.1997) is an oil painter exploring themes of identity, family and relationships, and diaspora. Having grown up in an Indian household, she became aware of the intersections of culture at a young age. After a transformational three week long trip to India in 2018, her experience of these intersections gained new clarity and began to emerge more intentionally in her work. She uses textile and fibers as symbols for identity, culture, family and relationships by exploring what it means to be connected, to be part of the “fabric” of something. In her work, she is part artist and part performer. She is the reference for her paintings, and makes work in the context of her life and family history. She is in constant pursuit of the world of the beautiful, bringing together vibrant colors and details patterning. By making this work, she is staking her own territory and carving out a space for her existence within a South Asian, Indian-American experience..

In 2019, she graduated with honors from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in painting. In 2023, she graduated with distinction from Pratt Institute’s MFA program. She was the recipient of the Beverly Hallum Fellowship, departmental honors from MassArt, the Pratt Circle award, and the Excellence in Academic Achievement Award from Pratt Institute. Most recently, she has been published in HyperAllergic, I Like Your Work Podcast, and Boston Art Review. Her work has been shown at the Brooklyn Museum, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Distillery Gallery, and Aicon Contemporary.