Ragini Upadhyaya

Ragini Upadhyaya Grela (also spelled as Ragini Upadhyay Grela) (born 9 November 1959), popularly known as Ragini Upadhyaya, is a Nepalese fine artist, lyricist, and philanthropist. She served as the First Female Chancellor of the Nepal Academy of Fine Art (2014-2018). She is known for her fusion of traditional mythology, symbolism, and modernism in her surrealist and abstract paintings. Her art often features social commentary and feminist or matriarchal themes. She is a board member of the B.P Koirala India-Nepal Foundation and the Barbara Foundation. She is also the chairperson and founder for the Shivata Love Foundation, an organization with which she engaged in social work through an education program for low-income families, particularly children, women, and minorities. This foundation also raises awareness of meningitis.

Childhood She was born to a Brahmin family as the fifth child to father Kanta Prasad and mother Sushila Upadhyaya in Kathmandu. She spent most of her childhood in Bettiah, India.

Her ancestors lived in Chundi Ramgha, Tanahun District, but her grandfather, Pandit Devi Prasad Upadhyaya, moved to Ramnagar in search of better educational opportunities for his children. Ramnagar was formerly part of Nepal before the Sugauli Treaty was signed, which transferred the territory to India. Some members of her extended family still live in Varanasi, India.

Education Her formal education began when her family enrolled in a Catholic school in Bettiah, India, at an early age, at a time when the traditional Nepali society did not allow girls to receive an education.

Ragini rose to further prominence at the inauguration of her exhibition by Queen Aishwarya Shah on the birth anniversary of King Birendra in 1986. This led her to receive a scholarship to study in England, with encouragement and support from her husband to enter the field.

Intending to establish a modern and well-equipped fine arts museum in Nepal, she was appointed the first woman Chancellor of the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts in 2014, by Sushil Koirala, the Prime Minister of Nepal.

With help and encouragement from her father, Ragini established herself in the field of fine arts. She has produced more than 65 solo exhibitions, with the first in 1979, and dozens of group exhibitions in more than two dozen countries worldwide. Her art has been received positively by others like Lain Singh Bandel, Bal Krishna Sama, BP Koirala, and Abhi Subedi.

Philanthropy Ragini is the chairperson of the Shivata Love Foundation, which she founded in 2017 in the memory of her eponymous late daughter, Shivata Upadhayay Grela, who died from meningitis B in February 2016 at the age of 20.

The foundation aims to raise awareness for the meningitis B vaccine, as well as to promote the education of underprivileged girls in Nepal through scholarships.

Professions

Former Chancellor – Nepal Academy of Fine Arts Member – BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation Member – Barbara Foundation Director – Artist Proof Gallery, Nepal Founder President – Women Artists Group Nepal Founder President – Shivata Love Foundation Founder President – Ragini Upadhyaya Art Foundation

Medals and awards National Exhibition Award, 1979, Nepal National Exhibition Award, 1985, Nepal National Exhibition Award, 1988, Nepal Kate & Robert Wilson Award, 1986, Bradford, UK Birendra-Aishwarya Memorial Medal, 2002, Nepal 50 Talented Women of Nepal, 2005, The Bose, Nepal Sankalp Honour, Sankalp Nepal Welfare Society, Nepal 'Best Student Award in 100 Years of Lucknow College of Arts and Crafts', Lucknow, India Toran Kumari Art Culture Award, Nepal Senior Artist Honor, Nepal Chamber of Commerce Artists Association, Nepal Bhadrakumari Seva Sadan Honour, Nepal Consensus Respect for Social Work, Nepal Honorary Life Member, Art Circle, U.P. Lucknow, India Glapev Honors 2019 Artist of the Year, Bharat Nirman Foundation, India Shabdayatra Mahila Pratibha Honour, , Shabdayatra Prakashan, Banepa, Kavrepalanchok