Overview:
Bala Thiagarajan joins us on the podcast ahead of her appearance at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival from July 4 to 6.
After courageously leaving her career in science and PhD in biology behind to become a full-time artist, Bala Thiagarajan is onto her next big journey: the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. For the first time in her career the Denver creative is getting her opportunity to shine at Colorado’s biggest arts festival from July 4 through 6.
Thiagarajan sat down with us for June’s episode of the “Bucket List Community News Podcast” to break down what it means to get into the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, what makes the Denver arts scene so special, the importance of representation and much more.
“[Participating in Cherry Creek Arts Festival] is particularly very meaningful to me because of the kind of works I create and the ethnic nature and the cultural stories that I am bringing to have a voice in a show like Cherry Creek,” Thiagarajan said.
Thiagarajan, who immigrated to the United States from South India in 2002, is known for her henna-style acrylic mandala paintings. The opportunity to blend her home culture with art is something that’s special to Thiagarajan and something she doesn’t take for granted.
“Not everybody gets to create their culture in some form and be able to talk about it,” Thiagarajan said. “Those conversations and those connections that I developed by painting mandalas being here through my artwork [are special]. You guys noticed it because it’s different and distinctive. It reminds you of something that’s familiar, but it also invokes some kind of a curiosity that makes you want to learn more.”
When Thiagarajan displays her work in a show as big and prestigious as Cherry Creek in early July, she’s not only representing her own art, but also showcasing South Asian culture and her community to as many newcomers as possible.
“It’s not just about representation,” Thiagarajan said. “It’s about who I am engaging with and the platform that Cherry Creek gives me with 100,000 plus people. Even if a fraction of those people engaged with my art, that’s amazing, right? They’re taking back something more when they leave the show. And I’m just so thrilled to have this visibility in the community and to be a participant in this show as a local artist from Denver.”
Behind the scenes, Thiagarajan has begun to shift some of her focus away from creating to a higher purpose.
“It’s not just about creating or showing or selling my work anymore,” Thiagarajan said. “It’s also about representation and making space. How do I provide a voice for people who want to do what I do? And so that has become very important to me more and more these days.”
In order to accomplish her goal, Thiagarajan started the Colorado South Asian Artists Group for fellow South Asian artists to foster a better sense of support and community. After two months, Thiagarajan is happy to report that it has been a resounding success thus far.
“I recently started a South Asian artist group in Colorado where there’s a few of us, but we hadn’t been connected,” Thiagarajan said. “Now that we are a group, there’s 22 of us as of yesterday, and the one thing I hear from every single member in the group is this is what we have needed and what’s been missing: that community. And now it’s not just about visibility, it’s also about what’s next.”
To Thiagarajan, playing a role in bringing fellow South Asian artists together has been especially gratifying.
“This is this extra joyous, overwhelming relationship building this [group],” Thiagarajan said. “And for me, it’s not just with members in the group. It’s also like telling about the group to other people, and people are so interested and wanting to help and be involved in a really positive way that I did not expect to happen so soon.”
As for the greater Denver arts community at large, Thiagarajan is happy with the state of the community, specifically with the support given to local artists and plenty of places to display her work.
“Denver has such a lively arts scene for a smaller city,” Thiagarajan said. “I used to live near Chicago, so that’s my comparison point when I called Denver a smaller city. But with Boulder being so close, it’s just this entire metro area and the Front Range that’s available for artists. There’s so many places that want to show art and support artists and support local artists.”
Still, Thiagarjan, believes there’s work to be done. She says the city needs to do a better job of prioritizing diversity initiatives.
“I have also seen people talk about [challenges within] diversity initiatives, making spaces and all the DEI stuff we’re not supposed to be talking about these days,” Thiagarajan said. “Sometimes, I do question how intentional people are about some of these things. The biggest challenge is finding the right person who appreciates what you do and finding the right venue to show what you create.”
As someone who immigrated to the United States herself, Thiagarjan knows just how important immigrants are to local arts communities. By bringing fresh perspectives and styles, Thiagarajan believes that immigrants and their art are pivotal to fostering cultural understanding.
“The art that immigrants are bringing comes with stories,” Thiagarajan said. “And we want kids who are growing up in this global culture to learn those stories, to hear more about them and to see things that are different from their own upbringing, from their own culture.”
Looking into Denver’s future, Thiagarajan knows uncertain times are ahead of us. Still, she’s hopeful that in Colorado’s shifting landscape, diversity within the arts will continue its upward trajectory and remain accessible to everyone.
“I think with how much Denver is growing as a city, not just Denver, right, the entire Front Range, like even places like Colorado Springs and Castle Rock, all those places are growing so much, and the diversity of the population is shifting,” Thiagarajan said. “Our demographics are changing with immigrant populations, people moving from even other cities and places within the US, and I want to see artists thrive in this shifting landscape where art is affordable.”
