Akshata Naik
She works towards co-creating with her viewers an immersive experience and interactive art installations that consist of drawing, painting, ephemeral temporary sculptures, and art in virtual reality and augmented reality.
Akshata Naik (b. 1990, Mumbai, India) is a contemporary visual artist, educator, researcher, and administrator based in Toronto, Canada. Born and raised in Mumbai, Akshata has lived in Vadodara and the UK. Her works reflect her lived experiences of moving homes, cities, and countries. Through the lens of immigration, war, displacement, home, and belonging. She works towards co-creating with her viewers an immersive experience and interactive art installations that consist of drawing, painting, ephemeral temporary sculptures, and art in virtual reality and augmented reality. She was an Assistant Professor at Parul University in Vadodara, where she taught drawing and painting in India before moving to Canada. She moved to Canada, and soon after she arrived in 2017, she became active in the arts scene, widely showing her interactive art in several communities across Toronto.
Akshata has exhibited internationally in North America, Europe, and Asia, including solo and group exhibitions at galleries in the UK, Canada, and India. Most recently, her explorations of digital art and (VR) virtual reality artwork, ‘Song of the Water, was projected on a building in Lakeshore Park, Toronto, Canada, as part of the BigArtTO initiative by the City of Toronto in partnership with OCAD University. Her popular interactive and immersive art installation ‘Bloody Boats 2.0’ was first shown at Artcore Gallery, UK (2016), and at the Gladstone Hotel for Nuit Blanche (2019). She was also invited as a guest artist by the town of Collingwood
to lead an experiential public art project. Her piece, 'Frozen Voyage' was installed at the council chambers of the town hall of Collingwood. She is also an accomplished speaker, presenting at De Montford University, UK; THE MUSEUM in Kitchener-Waterloo; the Gathering organized by Cultural Pluralism in the Art Movement Ontario (CPAMO), Emergence Symposium organized by Neighbourhood Arts Network; and Humber College in Toronto.
She was the recipient of notable grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council, andin 2020, she was awarded the RBC Newcomer Arts Award by the Toronto Arts Foundation and Neighborhood Arts Network. She was also awarded two gold medals in her final-year master's display. Akshata is a graduate of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (B.F.A. and M.F.A.), which is one of the most renowned art schools in India. She recently showcased her work, ‘Infinite Journeys’ as part of the Home(Land): Bodies of Water, curated by Claudia Arana at Cloverdale Mall, West Hub for ArtworxTO, Toronto’s Year of Public Art. Her piece, 'Bloody Boats' has been installed at the Billy Bishop Airport, and her sculpture, 'Voyage I, was acquired by Humber College.
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