Sejal Patel
I was born in India and immigrated to America when I was nine years old. After living in Jersey City for a year, my parents decided to move to Lowell, MA where I met Miss Frappier, my most memorable third-grade teacher, who had me speaking English and tutoring other immigrant students in a matter of months. Aside from learning
English it felt like I was a fish in a new pond, that was adapting itself by consciously developing new habits and behaviors; the more I tried the more I immersed into the community. I use this analogy to explain how my life’s experiences filter into my art making.
As a 10 year old I was constantly translating and teaching broken English to my parents, passionately playing the role of a teacher, this is what inspired me to become a teacher. As I grew older I realized that one learns in order to teach and teaches in order to learn. I have always had the desire to learn about art. I wondered why I liked to draw, paint, or photograph, spending hours and hours on making art. To me, art-making is as natural as learning a new language, or perhaps inventing a new language and that is the message I strive to bring to all my students.
When I am not teaching, I live in Cambridge, MA where I enjoy walking on the Charles, reading, dancing or making art. I am a performance-based media artist who works primarily with photography and video. My photographs and videos have been featured at Mobius in Boston, MA; DeCordova Art Museum in Lincoln, MA; A.I.R. Gallery in Chelsea, NY, and Women Made Gallery in Chicago, IL, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY, Smithsonian National Natural History Museum, DC, among many others. To learn more about my work you can go to www.patelsejal.com