PortalWritten by Emily Creasy, WOU SPO communications intern
Garima Thakur is an Associate Professor in the Arts Department at Western Oregon University, teaching interaction media and graphic design. When she’s not in the classroom, Garima is an interdisciplinary artist, expressing herself, her lived experiences, and her observations about the world through a variety of mediums such as video, drawing, sculpture, and text. Her work revolves around cores of assimilation, alienation, and collectivism. Garima has held residencies at the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art and Playa Artists. In addition to her residencies, Garima’s work has been displayed at the S1 Gallery (OR), Indivisible (OR), Front Gallery (LA), the NW Film Center, and the Chitrakoot Gallery (Kolkata, India).
Garima has been awarded a number of grants to help fund her art and allow her to continue her projects. She was nominated for and received the Golden Spot Residency at the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art in March. The program is funded by the Ford Family Foundation which provides $25,000 to four programs in Oregon to help artists explore and create new work. As a 2020/2021 recipient, Garima received an $8,000 artist stipend for travel, research materials, and additional resources for her project constructing a new kind of bioscope or moving picture social sculpture. In July, it was announced she was a recipient of the Support Beam program by the Regional Arts and Culture Council. Support Beam provides funding for artists through Multnomah County’s “Percent for Art” funds. Inspired by the Works Progress Administration, a federal depression era program, Support Beam allows diverse artists, especially BIPOC artists, to create “a body of public art without restriction to media or themes.” As an awardee, Garima Thakur’s work will be displayed as part of the Portable Works Public Art Collection.
Garima also received a Career Opportunity Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission for $6,500 in November. The Career Opportunity program supports Oregon artists by providing grants to take advantage of timely opportunities in their careers. Of the $6,500 Garima received, $1,500 came from the Oregon Arts Commission and through the same application, $5,000 from the Ford Family Foundation.
Reflecting on the impact of the grants on her art, Garima said, “They have allowed me to dig deeper and also stretch into my work. I am able to pay writers, collaborate with people, and gain new skills in coding and publishing.” Garima is currently working on a collaboration with her friend Sharita Towne which will appear at Well Well in Portland, OR in May. The work is centered on the “ongoing impact and manifestations of colonialism…weaving multiple histories and geographies into cross-cultural solidarity.”
To see more of Garima’s work, visit her website here.