Manimala Chitrakar

Manimala Chitrakar is a patua artist from West Bengal.

Biography Manimala belongs to a traditional community of chitrakars (itinerant scroll painters) from West Bengal. She was born in the village of Naya in the family of Dukhushyam Chitrakar, a renowned patua artist himself. As a child she used to accompany her grandfather as he went looking for patrons and clients in the villages, and so was exposed to the art-form from a very young age.

In an interview from 2005, Manimala elaborated on how the art form has significantly influenced her life: "If I hadn't learned this craft I could not have gone to the United States. I tell all of the young people of Naya to learn this skill if they want to travel and earn a living. My abilities have allowed me to develop a broader sense of the world - my life has not been restricted to the confines of Naya."

Exhibitions and collections

Vernacular in the Contemporary Part I, Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon, 2011. Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Art Mela, 2016 The 8th Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, 2016 Queensland Arts Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia