The Fertile Crescent

About Sanjay Sundram
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Born in New Delhi, India
Lives and works in Ottawa, Canada
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Sanjay Sundram studied architecture at university. He works with traditional media such as watercolours, acrylics and oils. He also works with Art installations using Augmented reality and robotics.
"I have always lived in big cities and have watched them grow. As a student of architecture, I was compelled to understand their structure and observe the changing landscape. But I kept drawing them instead.
I find my inspiration in urban spaces. Large simians appear on skyscrapers built on the ruins of their forest. Cars spout golden flowers instead of smoke. Wings want to fly.
I settled in Ottawa in 2013, coming from Delhi. It has been vigorous adventure
since then. As I try and understand a different set of structures, and encounter new spaces, it seems to reflect in my work. I find that ideas of flight and that of change, feature more often in the paintings. "
Sanjay has participated in solo and group exhibitions in the US, UK, Canada, Italy and India. His work incorporates environmental themes, and has been collected by the City of Ottawa, the Indian High Commission in Canada, the United Nations Development Fund, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Foundation, and the Fortis Foundation among others. His work in Art and Design has also been featured in publications such as Art in America, Platform and at the AVANCA Int’l Festival of film and multimedia. Awards include the Creation & Production award by the City of Ottawa, artist grant awards by the Ontario Arts Council, and multiple selections by the City of Ottawa for solo exhibitions and art projects.
CV
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Education:
B.Arch, School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi
M.Des, Indian Institute of Technology (Industrial Design Centre, IIT-Bombay)
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Exhibitions:
2026 Waste Not- Want That, Arnprior and District Museum, Arnprior, Ontario.
2025 Mosaic, Trinity Art Gallery, Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa.
2025 Three-Fifty Squares, Carleton Art Gallery, Carleton Place, Ontario.
2025 Aroha Arts, National Arts Centre, Ottawa.
2025 Art Lending of Ottawa, Jim Durell Centre, Ottawa.
2024 Tessellation Murals, Elgin St, Arnprior, Ontario. Commissioned by the Arnprior and District Museum.
2024 Art Lending of Ottawa, R.A.Centre, Ottawa.
2023 Solo exhibition, Emerge, Salon A&B, Trinity Art Gallery, Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa
2022 Art Cubes, Murals for the Town of Arnprior, Ontario
​2022 Kaleidoscope, Kanata Art Gallery, Ottawa
2022 Art Lending of Ottawa, R.A. Centre, Ottawa
2021 Parkdale ArtWall, Outdoor mural, Wellington West, Ottawa
2021 'Tis the Season, Kanata Art Gallery, Ottawa
2021 New Life, Kanata Civic Art Gallery, Ottawa
2021 Glebe Art Cube, Mural at TD Lansdowne Place, Ottawa
2020 Art&Co- Art auction by InsurAid, London, UK
2020 Scenic Route, Kanata Art Gallery, Ottawa
2020 Secret Places, Kanata Art Gallery, Ottawa
2019 Unveiling of commissioned work by the Indian High Commission to Canada, Kailash Mittal Theatre, Carleton University, Ottawa
2019 No Borders, Nectar Art Gallery, Ottawa
2018 Silent Cities, Solo show at the Trinity Gallery, Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa
2018 Nature Embedded, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
2018 Aroha, Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa
2017 The Fertile Crescent, Solo show at the Trinity Gallery, Ottawa
2017 Longevity- 2017 additions to the City of Ottawa Art Collection, City Hall Art Gallery, Ottawa
2017 South Asian Festival, Jean Pigott Place- City Hall, Ottawa
2016 Flight, Solo show at the Atrium Art Gallery, Ottawa
2016 South Asian Festival, Jean Pigott Place- City Hall, Ottawa
2015 Aruba’s Story, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust UK/ Kenya
2014 Art in the Park, Ottawa
2013 Sarai Reader 09, Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon
2013 Artist-in-Residence at Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon
2012 Contemporary Artists Collective, Conceptual, Brescia, ITALY
2012 United Art Fair, New Delhi
2012 Conservation on Canvas, Taj Palace and Religare Arts, WWF/ Religare Arts, New Delhi
2012 India Art Fair 2012, Religare Arts, New Delhi
2011 Artist-in-residence at Religare Arts, New Delhi
2011 Nanhi Chhaan, Gandhi Smriti, Religare Arts, New Delhi
2010 Games Artist Play, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
2010 Mind the Gap, Gallery Art Positive, New Delhi
2010 Invisible Cities, AICON gallery, New York, USA
2009 India Art Summit, Religare Arts.i
2009 The Why Not Place, Religare Arts.i, New Delhi
2009 Connaught Place – The Why Not Place, Artist-in-residence, Religare Arts.i, New Delhi
2009 Everything Under the Sun… almost, Two-person show, Religare Arts.i, New Delhi
2002 Borderless Terrains, Apparao Galleries, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
2001 Converging Diversions: expressions beyond architecture, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre
2001 Exhibition of watercolours, Jharokha Art Gallery, New Delhi
2000 All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, AIFAACS Gallery, New Delhi
2000 Exhibition of animal drawings and watercolours, Gallery Art Plus, New Delhi
2000 Questioning Man’s creation myths, Industrial Design Centre, Mumbai
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Commissioned Works:
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Mural commissions by the Town of Arnprior, Ontario
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Artwall | Mural commission by Wellington West BIA, Ottawa
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Moral Progress | Painting commission by the Indian High Commission to Canada
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Art Cubes | Mural commission by the City of Ottawa
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Elephant watercolours | Commissioned by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, UK/ Kenya
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Series of 12 paintings in oils and watercolours | Commissioned by United Nations Development Programme
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'Aruba's story' watercolours | Commissioned by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, UK/ Kenya
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'If You're Happy in a Dream, Does it Count'- Fibreglass sculptures, 30 ft. Glass Etching | Commissioned by: Magic Software
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Exhibition Murals | Commissioned by: Agrotech Fair, Chandigarh
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Awards and Grants:
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Creation and Production Award for professional artists, City of Ottawa 2024-25
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Grants for Climate Art and Exhibition, Arnprior and District Museum 2025-26
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Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Exhibition Grant 2022-23
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City of Ottawa award: Solo exhibition, Community gallery program, 2022-23
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Creation and Production Award for professional artists, City of Ottawa 2022-23.
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Acquisition of work by the Indian High Commission, Ottawa.
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Acquisition of work for the City of Ottawa’s Art collection.
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City of Ottawa award: Solo exhibition, Community gallery program, 2018-19
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Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Exhibition Grant 2018-19
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Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Exhibition Grant 2017-18
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Selection for AVANCA, International Festival of Film and Multimedia, Portugal
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Published:
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CBC News: How Kids See Our Changing Planet, Ash Abraham. Behind-the-scenes feature on the Teach Your Parents initiative.
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CBC Radio: All In A Day, Alan Neal, Teach Your Parents and Emerge show.
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Globe and Mail: Canadians Making a Difference, Sierra Bien, Globe Climate.
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Rogers TV: Daytime Ottawa, Derick Fage, for Emerge, 2023.
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CBC Radio: Interview on QR code works, All in Day with Allan Neal.
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Platform Magazine: QR codes/ Technology Interventions in Art
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Art in America: Jason Stopa. New Delhi’s UAF
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Religare Arts Publications: Everything under the Sun