Sanjna Srikanth is a young artist, diagnosed with Autism, who is known for her spontaneous art expressions of pure, brilliant colors and simple, abstract forms.
Sanjna is extremely creative and uses mediums such as pencil, charcoal, dry pastel, oil pastel, pen, ink and acrylic paints with equal élan. Over the years, her work has evolved in terms of boldness of the lines she uses, compositions and force of dynamism in her artistic manifestations.
Born in Boston, USA, her parents noticed her penchant to experiment and an immense fascination with colors at the age of 3. After moving to Bangalore, she has been under the tutelage of art teachers Mr.Doddamani, Mr. Francis, Ms. Malamma Patil and Mr. Vinodh Shahpure.
Sanjna finished her high school from TLCI, Maryland, in 2015. She also got her Diploma in Digital arts from Picasso animation college, Bangalore in 2016 and a Diploma in Fine arts from the IFAA, Indore in 2018.
In October 2023, she has also completed her four year BFA degree in Fine Arts Painting, through the Shri Krishna University, Madhya Pradesh.
In Aug 2022, Sanjna published her Coloring book, “Stress Relieving Designs”, which was initially sold at the Book worm shop in Bangalore. The book is available on Amazon now.
Amazon.com – https://a.co/d/cn8rFpR
Exhibitions:
Sanjna was featured as one of India’s “Emerging Artists” at the prestigious Art Bengaluru festival at UB city, in Nov 2019. It was the ninth edition of the festival that brought together 21 artists from across the world, including Netherlands, US, France, Saudi Arabia, and India. The month-long festival featured around 200 works of art: paintings, glass sculpture, installations, video projects, photography, and mixed media.
Sanjna held her Solo Sculpture show at the reputed Kala Academy, Panaji, Goa on Dec 23-24th, 2017. It was inaugurated by Chief Guest Shri.Mahesh Vengurlekar, Principal, Goa College of Art. The Guest of Honor was Shri.Sanjay Harmalkar, Chairman, Institute Menezes Braganza. The Special Guests for the event were Mr. Alexyz Fernandez, renowned Goan Cartoonist and Stacey Rodriguez, a self-taught visually impaired artist from Goa.
Sanjna presented her Third Solo exhibition at one of the historic landmarks of Bangalore, the Venkatappa Art Gallery, between Mar 18-26th, 2016. The function was graced by Hon’ble Governor of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana Shri. E.S.L. Narasimhan and his wife Smt. Vimala Narasimhan. The Rio Olympic canvas was unveiled, and Sanjna’s art teachers including respected Mr. M.G. Doddamani, Ms. Malamma Patil and Mr. Vinod Shahpure were given special honors during the inauguration.
She also held her Second Solo exhibition at the prestigious Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai between Dec 22-28th, 2014. The opening ceremony was inaugurated by Mr. Sandeep Sareen, Executive Vice President, IndusInd Bank, Chennai. More than 80 artists and art students, and many visitors attended the exhibition throughout the week.
Sanjna participated in the India Inclusion Summit, 2014 for the second time in a row on Nov 28-29, 2014, by giving two of her paintings to be used as a backdrop for the event. She was awarded a plaque for her contribution to the summit. The IIS is a community-driven initiative that brings together thought leaders from the field of inclusion to deliberate, discuss and take forward diverse talents available in our society.
In Nov’13, her paintings were displayed in the India Inclusion Summit, 2013 and one of them was sold in a prestigious auction along with India’s prominent artists and celebrities. And, in February 2013, one of Sanjna’s works of art was profiled at the World Economic Forum, held at Davos.
In the year 2012, when she was 16 years old, Sanjna held her First Solo Art Exhibition with a collection of over 40 painting and drawings, proceeds of around Rs. 40,000 which went to the Sunshine Autism school, Bangalore. Several prominent international artists attended the exhibition and gave testimonials of her work.
Awards:
In September, 2016, Sanjna had the immense honor of being a Torch Bearer for the 2016 Rio Paralympics event. She went to Rio De Janeiro and took part in the Torch relay event.
As a sponsor of the Rio Olympics, 2016, Cisco systems chose Sanjna because she fulfills the vision of the Paralympic Games, which are “a symbol of courage and inspiration to what is possible.”
In August 2014, Sanjna has been recognized as an “Inspiring Role Model for the Community” by The Diana Award, UK established in memory of Princess Diana. This organization is a living legacy to Diana, the Princess of Wales’ belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better. Since 1999, the Diana Award has recognized over 40,000 inspirational and socially active young people.