Researchers

Sharada Eswar is a South-Asian-Canadian curator, community arts, storyteller, arts educator, and theatre artist.

Sharada first trained in South Indian classical voice with Shri Krishnamurthy and veena (a string instrument) with Smt Subbalakshmi. She further developed her craft with other artists, including the Bombay Sisters, and the renowned Mallika Sarabhai at the prestigious Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad, India. She represented India as part of the delegation sent to the India Abroad show in Paris and New York, and was one of the three chosen by the Centres Culturels des Lions Clubs de Paris to present Indian culture in Normandy, France.

Since immigrating to Canada, Sharada has garnered artistic credits as a curator, speaker, storyteller, author, playwright, translator, and arts educator with the Toronto Festival of Storytelling, the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto District School Board, Harcourt Canada, Theatre Direct, Tarragon Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre, National Arts Centre, Jumblies Theatre, Weeseegechak Festival, Community Arts Guild, and others. Sharada and the Laboratory for Artistic Intelligence’s Chief Artistic Officer, Helen Yung, collaborated in 2014 on a community storytelling project with newcomer women in Thorncliffe, and again in 2018 on a book of recipes by newcomers attending ESL classes.

Sharada has recently received significant support from the Trillium Foundation to continue her “Border Crossings” project in partnership with the Art Gallery of Mississauga.