Biography
Sheetal Prajapati is an educator, artist and advisor working across the field of art and public engagement. Born in Buffalo, New York, Sheetal is a first generation Indian American. Raised in Owensboro, Kentucky, Sheetal studied and worked in Chicago for 12 years, enjoyed 11 years building community in New York City, and in January 2022, moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she is currently based.
Sheetal is an advisor and consultant through her agency Lohar Projects working with artists, art workers and cultural organizations. Recent clients includes Eyebeam, The Clemente, Santa Fe Community Foundation, and NEW INC at the New Museum.
Previous to founding Lohar Projects in 2019, Sheetal served as the first Director of Public Engagement at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn from 2017-2018. There she oversaw strategy for public engagement across the institution leading a division including visitors services, programming and partnerships. She oversaw their marquee Second Sundays program, developed exhibition-related public programs series and brought large scale installations to the Pioneer Works bookstore. From 2010-2016, she worked in the education department of The Museum of Modern Art, serving as the Assistant Director, Learning and Artists Initiatives (2014-2016). There, she collaborated with a range of artists to develop experimental public programs, projects and interventions and started the Art and Practice series. From 2007 to 2010, she served as Director of Educational Programs at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University. Prior to that Sheetal worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2004-2007) where she redeveloped the family and youth programs division.
As an artist, Sheetal has held residencies at Pocoapoco, Wassaic Project, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, and The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts among others. Her work has been presented at EFA Project Space (NYC), Elsewhere Museum (Greensboro, NC), Denny Gallery (NYC), and The Galleries at Moore (Philadelphia).
She received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Gender Studies from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
sheetal@loharprojects.com
Instagram (@sdp80)
Lohar Projects
www.loharprojects.com
Instagram (@loharprojects)
Site image credits: Beatriz Meseguer, Manuel Molina Martagon, The Museum of Modern Art, Pioneer Works, MCA Chicago, Northwestern University