Nilima Sheikh

Nilima Sheikh (born 1945) is a visual artist based in Baroda, India. Nilima Sheikh is rooted in Eastern painting traditions such as miniature painting and oral traditions found in vernacular folk songs. Through her own life experiences, Sheikh creates bodies of work that evoke mystical imaginary landscapes that address feminine experiences. Inspired by reading Rabindranath Tagore, the artist became interested at an early age in the connection between stories and images, and age-old connection from murals to ancient manuscripts. Beyond appropriating traditional techniques in her work, Sheikh works with figure and narration in her practice, which has also beautifully translated into theatre sets such as the 1993 Vivadi theatre production of Umrao, as well as children's books. Internationally exhibited, Sheikh has inspired several generations over her five-decade career as a Baroda based painter.