Meera Chauda
My practice involves finding, creating, and manipulating images to construct narratives that are both playful and complex.
In my work, I reimagine fictional female protagonists drawn from the childhood stories that have shaped me. These composite characters—part Kali, part Alice in Wonderland, part my own experience—embody elements from various stories and histories. I use collage, often combining it with drawing, photography, text, and stitch and tapestry each layer adding complexity and depth to the narrative. The final pieces are often sequences of photographed images, each telling a fragment of a larger story. These stories are not fixed; they evolve as I explore different combinations and perspectives.
I dismantle and reassemble images, playing with their meanings and forms, organising them into new configurations that provoke questions and invite multiple interpretations.
My characters inhabit vibrant, often heavily patterned environments where the boundaries between background and foreground blur. In these spaces, recent images may vanish, become hidden, silenced, or obscured, mirroring the ways in which histories are often selectively remembered or forgotten. My images map and consider the confusion and complexities of home, heritage, legacy and place.
With over 25 years in Arts Education, I’ve worked as a facilitator, educator, consultant, and trainer, collaborating with institutions such as Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, The National Maritime Museum, the British Library, and The South London Gallery. My contributions span leading projects, workshops, training, resource development, evaluation, and consultation.
Central to my practice is a commitment to fostering inclusivity and advancing anti-racist and decolonising practices within the arts. Recently, I served as an Artist Critical Friend at Tate and contributed as a Content Advisor on Empire and Colonial history for the National Portrait Gallery's Picturing History Schools resource.
Together with Jean Campbell, I co-lead anti-racist training for museum staff, working with teams from the Museum of London, Courtauld Gallery, the Horniman Museum, and others. I also provide CPD for teachers in South Essex, focusing on enhancing literacy through visual arts.
My work is deeply rooted in social justice, aiming to create inclusive spaces in the arts that empower marginalised communities and challenge historical narratives. I am dedicated to guiding institutions and individuals toward more equitable and reflective practices, with a focus on dismantling racist structures within the arts.
Art, for me, is both a mirror and a window—a way to reflect on the world as it is and envision what it could become. My mission is to continue using my skills and experiences to facilitate change, both within the arts and in the broader social landscape, ensuring that arts education and cultural spaces are places where everyone can see themselves reflected and valued.
