Manjari Sharma
About
Manjari Sharma (b. 1979, Mumbai, IN) is an internationally recognized Indian-American artist based in LA who examines ritual, identity, memory, and mythology through worldbuilding. Her projects explore the nature and potential of rituals and their transformative impact on the inner landscape of the human mind through photography, sound, motion, projection, and sculpture. Manjari’s project ‘Darshan’ (Published by Nazraeli Press) is a photographic re-imagining of Hindu deities that has garnered her wide critical acclaim. Her works can be found in The New York Times, Vice Magazine, CNN, LA Times, The Huffington Post, and NPR, to name a few, and her projects have been published and exhibited in galleries, museums, and festivals worldwide. Manjari is a proud recipient of the prestigious Pollock Krasner Foundation grant (2024), and her works are in the permanent collection of The MET, MFA, Houston, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Carlos Museum, and Birmingham Museum of Art, amongst various private collections.
Gallery
LACP Interviews Manjari Sharma
LACP asks Manjari Sharma ten questions about their background, career in and beliefs about photography.
Los Angeles Center of Photography: What kind of photographer are you?
Manjari Sharma: I consider myself a lens-based artist.
LACP: How long have you been photographing?
MS: I’ve been using photography to tell my stories since I was in high school, so for 25 years.
LACP: Where did you get your training?
MS: I studied photography at SVT college in Mumbai, India and followed it up with a second undergraduate degree in Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, where I received my BFA.
LACP: When did you know you wanted to devote your life to photography?
MS: When I was 20 I knew I was in obsessed with making images in a way that nothing else mattered. I lost track of time like never before and I knew I had found my calling.
LACP: Did you ever come close to giving up?
MS: It’s hard to give up on something that never gives up on me.
LACP: Have you sacrificed anything by being a photographer?
MS: Yes, I left my country and everyone I knew to pursue my art. I didn’t think of it as a sacrifice then, but over the years, as I have realized that it has cost me quality time with loved ones back home.
LACP: What have you gained by being a photographer?
MS: In Photography, I have found a lifelong companion and developed my own way of seeing and making meaning of the world around and within me.
LACP: What classes do you teach at LACP?
MS: Practice, Process, and Personal Myth, World Building through Image
LACP: What do you love most about teaching?
MS: I love the moment students break through to create something that surprises them. There is a great collective joy in discovering new work and witnessing a project take shape. Workshopping through that moment never gets old.
LACP: What advice would you give someone who is thinking about making a career in photography?
MS: To cultivate self-awareness and critical thinking, and to embrace your distinct voice by sharing stories that are uniquely yours.