From a Father’s Shop to the City as Canvas
official website Majhi grew up in Bhubaneswar watching life unfold around her father’s shop in a local market. Buying and selling, festivals, neighbourhood conversations and stray animals became an informal first art school. As Bhubaneswar changed from a temple town into a rapidly expanding capital, she began observing what was disappearing. Her canvases function as crowded social landscapes, bringing together vendors, workers, walkers, plants and architecture as fragments of a changing city. She holds a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Traditional Art, but her practice has developed beyond conventional definitions of tradition.
Everyday Life as an Artistic Archive
This exploration gave rise to two signature motifs. The Triangle echoes the silhouette of the Niyamgiri hills and represents stability and sacred geography. “Up and Down” draws inspiration from the daily uphill and downhill journeys of Dongaria people, becoming a metaphor for resilience and life’s continuous movement. Through these forms, landscape connects to memory, movement, identity and lived experience.
A Decade with the Dongaria Kondh and Niyamgiri
In 2023, Majhi served as Co-Sutradhar and creative contributor to “People’s Wall – Jan, Janani and Janmabhumi” for the New Parliament House in New Delhi, a participatory project created through Lalit Kala Akademi that brought together women artists and artisans from across India. The project reflects her practice of connecting artistic expression with collective cultural narratives.
The Triangle and “Up and Down”
Majhi’s journey has taken her from Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal and Nature Morte, Gurgaon to the Bhubaneswar Art Trail and Vancouver Biennale-linked projects. She received the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi State Award in 2012 and the National Lalit Kala Akademi Scholarship in 2009–10. As Secretary of Sasatwa Foundation, she also connects artistic practice with social engagement. Her ongoing solo show, *Land as Memory, Matter as Landscape* at artCENTRIX Space Gallery, brings these ideas together, presenting soil as colour and landscape as belonging.
Public Art That Meets the Community
Public art is central to Majhi’s belief that art should meet people where they are. Her large-scale murals and interventions can be seen across Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, including works associated with the Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup and Asian Athletics Championships. Projects such as *Pago* and *Thought Loom* transformed public walls into spaces for community dialogue, demonstrating how art can become part of the visual and social fabric of a city.
People’s Wall and the New Parliament
In 2023, Majhi served as Co-Sutradhar and creative contributor to “People’s Wall – Jan, Janani and Janmabhumi” for the New Parliament House in New Delhi, a participatory project created through Lalit Kala Akademi that brought together women artists and artisans from across India. The project reflects another important dimension of her practice: connecting artistic expression with collective cultural narratives.
Fifteen Years of Art Education and Community Work
For the last 15 years, Majhi has worked with children through initiatives such as *Kalpanadham* and with organisations including Gram Vikas and Tata Trusts, including residential schools and work involving children with disabilities. Her teaching approach is rooted in observation and memory rather than imitation. Children are encouraged to draw their homes, trees and festivals, allowing personal experience and local surroundings to become sources of artistic expression.
Recognition and the Current Show
Majhi’s journey has taken her from Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal and Nature Morte, Gurgaon to the Bhubaneswar Art Trail and Vancouver Biennale-linked projects. She received the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi State Award in 2012 and the National Lalit Kala Akademi Scholarship in 2009–10. As Secretary of Sasatwa Foundation, she also connects artistic practice with social engagement. Her ongoing solo show, *Land as Memory, Matter as Landscape* at artCENTRIX Space Gallery, brings these ideas together, presenting soil as colour and landscape as belonging.
When Places Become Memory
At the heart of Satyabhama Majhi’s work is an enduring question: How do places remember us, even when we forget them? Her practice suggests that art can become cultural memory—preserving ordinary lives, indigenous knowledge and changing landscapes. By working with communities and natural materials, Majhi continues to expand contemporary Indian art. Her journey from a Bhubaneswar marketplace to the Niyamgiri hills and major public-art projects is ultimately a story about seeing value in what surrounds us and giving those memories a lasting visual language.
Website: www.satyabhamamajhi.in
