Many thanks to Shalinee Kumari for visiting the New School! Shalini is a Mithila-artist from India who was visiting SU for a residency. She came to The New School to share her amazing art form. Then she returned to help students create their own works based on the Mithila style. 

“Mithila is an ancient painting style that uses geometric and intricate patterns, symbols, and vibrant colors. Women used to paint the illustrations on walls. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that the paintings were converted to being created on paper. 

Not only was there a transformation in where the paintings were displayed, but also in the stories and illustrations the artists depicted. Mithila used to primarily depict religious deities and rituals around marriages.

Over the past 25 years, Mithila artists have begun to use art as a form of community building and activism.” Sue Wadley