Lakshmi Sriraman is a multidisciplinary artist and passionate arts advocate. As an award-winning artist, her recent work explores the convergence of art and activism. She is dedicated to using art to tackle social issues, foster dialogue, and build vibrant communities.
Originally from India, Lakshmi earned a master’s degree in mathematics before moving to the U.S. for further education, where she completed an MBA at the University of Texas at El Paso. After a decade as a Management Consultant, she transitioned to a career in Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form, and later expanded her creative endeavors into visual arts.
Lakshmi resides in Lexington, KY, with her husband, son, and their charming Havanese dog, Fibo.
Visual Artist
A Kentucky Crafted artist, Lakshmi Sriraman started painting in 2017. She is a self-taught artist whose work is inspired by Indian and Aboriginal artworks.
Lakshmi’s work always starts with an energetic intent that forms the foundation for her inspirations to flow through her brush and onto the canvas. This focus is joyfully expressed as she mixes her paints, asking the colors to work well with each other, to blend well and to create distinct boundaries where needed. Indeed, she sings to them, asking them to awaken as she puts a different intent into each color such as love, compassion, joy, laughter, and healing. These are consciously instilled to provide an energetic connection between her painting and the observer.
Artistic expression has been a lifelong passion for Lakshmi. She likes exploring different types of painting, ranging from detailed dot painting to elusive abstract work. Drawing from her classical dance background, Lakshmi seeks to create “movement” within the spiritually inspired images she crafts on canvas. By doing so, there is an energy instilled in her paintings that is very much alive, with the hope of inspiring her audience to discover and connect with their own creativity.
In addition to her larger canvases, Lakshmi also creates limited editions of miniature artworks on wooden jewelry.
Performing Artist
Lakshmi Sriraman is a trained Bharatanatyam artist from South India, excelling as a performer, choreographer, educator, and arts advocate. Her performances range from traditional Bharatanatyam repertoire to innovative productions addressing contemporary social issues. She is also trained in South Indian folk art traditions and South Indian contemporary theater techniques.
Lakshmi’s accolades include:
- Two-time recipient of the Art Meets Activism award from the Kentucky Foundation for Women (2010, 2019).
- Advancing Democracy through Art grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women (2019)
- Three-time winner of the Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the Kentucky Arts Council (2017, 2019, 2023).
- Sangeetha Sambrama Puraskar from the Sangeetha Sambrama Trust, India (2019).
- GreenRoom Exchange Grant for original work (2022).
- Kentucky Arts Council grant for creating and presenting an original production (2018).
- Featured Artist designation by the Kentucky Arts Council (2018).
Notable Works
Her notable solo and collaborative works include Dotted Lines (2022), Neeri (2020), You, Me & Rumi (2018), Rumi’s Field (2017), When Sita Was a Microbe (2017), Radha’s Flute (2016), Sarasa Mitra (2014), I Have Never Known Two (2016), and And She Said (2010).
Lakshmi received extensive Bharatanatyam training from Smt. Sujatha Ramalingam and Smt. Padmaja Kelam, with over a decade of mentorship from Padmashri Priyadarsini Govind. She is also trained in South Indian Contemporary Theater by Srijith Sundaram, who continues to mentor her in activism-based art. Additionally, she studies with Ruben Master (Therukkoothu), Ashwini Kasi (Therukkoothu and South Indian Folk Art Traditions), and Madhan Mani (Parai).
Beyond her performing and choreographing, Lakshmi runs Shree School of Dance, where she mentors students through their personal dance journeys.
Portfolio
A look at some of the work done over the years.
- All
- Performing Art
- Visual Art
In the News
Explore a collection of media reports highlighting Lakshmi's artistic journey, significant achievements, and impactful contributions to the performing and visual arts, showcasing her unique talent and creativity.
Lakshmi is a self-taught artist whose work is inspired by Indian and Aboriginal artworks. Lakshmi has also created a niche for herself through her innovative and creative work in Indian classical dance. In addition to performing and choreographing, she runs the Shree School of Dance, guiding her students through their personal journey.
Richmond Area Arts Council
Richmond Register
I see myself as a storyteller, whether it's on stage dancing or on a canvas,” Sriraman said. “When I was young, I started training in Bharatanatyam. It's a South Indian traditional dance, art form and that's where my traditional training is,” Sriraman said. Her works center on telling a story – she incorporates canvases she’s painted as props into Bharatanatyam.
Khyati Patel
Spectrum News
In my more recent works, using poetry in English and my native language, Tamil, I have attempted to create here an intimate poetry in movement and emoting. A rich Indian classical and semi-classical soundscape offers me a way to bring together these various elements into a unified performance work.
Kentucky Arts Council
Showcasing the Arts
Lakshmi Sriraman of Lexington, KY and Aniruddhan Vasudevan of India danced an intricate and delicately synchronized Bharatanatyam piece that was light hearted and jovial.
Mickela Mallozzi
Travel Bare Feet
Sriraman is an accomplished performer, teacher and choreographer of Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest classical dance forms of India, dating back to 1000 B.C.
NKYTribune
Kentucky Arts Council Communications
At its most basic, dance is a relationship between movement, space and time. But for professional dancer Lakshmi Sriraman, founder of Lexington’s Shree School of Dance and one of the most recent additions to the Kentucky Arts Council’s Performing Arts Directory, dance is much more than that.
Saraya Brewer
Smiley Pete
On this episode of Unapologetically Woman, we sit down with Lakshmi Sriraman, a local performer, educator, choreographer, visual artist, and jewelry maker.
Unapologetically Woman
Lexcommaction
As if painting and dance weren’t enough for this multi-faceted artist to juggle, Sriraman spent much of the pandemic year finishing the creation of Neeri, a solo performance piece funded by a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.
Kevin Nance
UnderMain Magazine
Lakshmi Sriraman is an artist based out of Lexington who specializes in multiple art forms.
Kentucky Life
Kentucky Educational Television (KET)
Where theatre actors often work to create a "fourth wall" - i.e., an imagined boundary between performer and audience - Sriraman finds herself working in each performance to break that boundary down.
Saraya Brewer
South Sider Magazine
Adapting poetry to a dance-theatre performance is always a challenge. While some poems have a basic rhythm that can be set to a dance beat, others are free verse that do not cooperate with the more rigid forms of dance.
Shilpa Krishnan
The New Indian Express
Lakshmi approaches it as an artist and a storyteller.
Rich Copley
Lexington Herald-Leader
And She Said is a remarkable work of politics and spirit, which had me completely spellbound. Lakshmi Sriraman's versatility, precision, and creativity shine through her absolutely superb performance. Her connection with the audience was magical. Don't miss this!
Patricia Cooper
Chair,
Gender and Women's Studies Department,
University of Kentucky
Staccato beats emanated from everywhere: from darting glances, belled heels, sharply bent knees, and arms flung to the horizon, then crossed at the chest, where the fingers flared like a bouquet.
Apollinaire Scherr
New York based dance critic for
Financial Times
... lively in Bharatanatyam, showing plenty of detail of gesture, footwork and positions.
Alastair Macaulay
NY Times Dance Critic
Seeing Lakshmi's dance I learnt that it is actually possible to make Aandaal's poetry even more beautiful than it is. I will never read Aandaal's poetry the same way again. Thanks to her wonderful interpretation, I feel like I have been in her presence. Thank you for channelling her feelings with such conviction. Can't thank you enough.
Rooben Morgan
Theater Artist and Director
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