Artist statement
Hello, I’m Sri Theyvi (all pronouns) and I am a visual artist & community care worker that is currently settled in Tio’tia:ke (Montréal). I am a queer and trans/non-binary person of Indian descent with studies in psychology, studio arts, anthropology and Indian art & craft traditions.
My artistic, craft and research practices explore the cloudy in-between areas of divinity/mundanity manifest, corporeality and embodiment, and (tr)ancestral tradition. I hope to play within these themes through research and storytelling, by turning to South Asian (her)stories, traditions, mythologies, and folk art in order to offer transformational reclaiming back to our diasporic, queer & trans community. By returning to these stories of the past, I hope to shed light on the narratives that were quieted in order to offer a Shakti-centered retelling, where I foresee our future lies. Similarly, I dig down into my lineage as an anchoring for our collective liberation and acension. In these ways, traditions are embodied and divinity is brought to Earth. I look to these other worlds as a source of imagination for what we can create.
I understand the Self as firmly embedded within the greater collective, to whom I am humbly devoted to. Sri Theyvi is the Godx of abundance, beauty and pleasure, of which they wish to bring you plenty.
ARTIST CV
Artist bio
My practice plays primarily with painting, relief printmaking, and textile work. I research and work on my craft in my studio while connecting with the local community at art shows and markets. I also enjoy facilitating art spaces for community art projects, for example a collaborative mural with Centre des Femmes de Laval (2025) and creative workshops with O3: On Our Own (2026). I’ve participated in a number of group shows, notably with Projet Marquage PAAL Montreal (2023), Fruition (2023), No Borders (New York, 2023) and have been published in Montreal Serai (2024). Grounded in South Asian folk art, I hope to reconnect with my roots and uncover stories from my lineages that have been buried, to offer them back to my communities.
*South Asian
I want to acknowledge that when I say “South Asian” I am referring to the geographic region known through art history and folk tradition. I want to highlight that South Asia is made up of a myriad of cultures, religions, traditions, ethnic and tribal groups, languages, that overlap and interplay to create what is often referred to as “South Asian”. I strive to celebrate and acknowledge this, by doing the work to research and name where the inspirations and practices come from, rather than contribute to the agglomeration of identity that is often understood when we say “South Asian”.
Sridevi 