{"id":1383,"date":"2017-11-06T14:45:44","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T19:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anokhiawards.com\/?page_id=1383"},"modified":"2017-11-06T15:55:52","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T20:55:52","slug":"babbu-the-painter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.anokhiawards.com\/talent-2017\/babbu-the-painter\/","title":{"rendered":"Babbu the Painter"},"content":{"rendered":"[mk_page_section bg_color=”#e01483″ bg_position=”center top” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_stretch=”true” video_color_mask=”rgba(0,0,0,0.5)” video_opacity=”0″ min_height=”80″ js_vertical_centered=”true” padding_top=”20″ sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column][mk_fancy_title tag_name=”h1″ color=”#ffffff” size=”60″ force_font_size=”true” size_tablet=”50″ size_phone=”40″ font_weight=”400″ txt_transform=”uppercase” margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”Montserrat” font_type=”google” align=”center”]Talent[\/mk_fancy_title][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][vc_row fullwidth=”true”][vc_column][mk_divider style=”thin_solid” thin_single_color=”#54548a” thickness=”10″ margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”0″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1508212551592{padding-top: 60px !important;padding-right: 40px !important;padding-left: 40px !important;background-color: #101e53 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”1438″ img_size=”400×400″ css_animation=”left-to-right”][mk_social_networks size=”x-large” style=”circle” icon_color=”#ffffff” icon_hover_color=”#de0081″ align=”center” facebook=”https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/babbuthepainter\/” twitter=”https:\/\/twitter.com\/babbuthepainter” rss=”https:\/\/babbuthepainter.com\/” instagram=”https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/babbuthepainter\/”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][mk_fancy_title color=”#ffffff” size=”28″ force_font_size=”true” size_tablet=”25″ size_phone=”20″ font_weight=”100″ letter_spacing=”1″ margin_top=”5″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”Maven+Pro” font_type=”google” responsive_align=”left”]Babbu the painter<\/strong>[\/mk_fancy_title][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1510001750150{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Artist & Instagram Star[\/vc_column_text][mk_fancy_title color=”#ffffff” size=”28″ force_font_size=”true” size_tablet=”25″ size_phone=”20″ font_weight=”100″ letter_spacing=”1″ margin_top=”5″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”Maven+Pro” font_type=”google” responsive_align=”left”]Testimonial<\/strong>[\/mk_fancy_title][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1509983118344{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]\u201cYou must check her out, she slay\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

~ Mindy Kaling, Actor and Author\u00a0<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][mk_fancy_title color=”#ffffff” size=”28″ force_font_size=”true” size_tablet=”25″ size_phone=”20″ font_weight=”100″ letter_spacing=”1″ margin_top=”5″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”Maven+Pro” font_type=”google” responsive_align=”left”]Bio<\/strong>[\/mk_fancy_title][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1509982919050{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]\u201cWhy do I have to choose between being a Canadian or being an Indian? Why can\u2019t I just be both?\u201d\u201d Those questions pushed 23-year-old Babneet Lakhesar, also known as Babbu the Painter, to explore the Indian diaspora through her brush strokes.<\/p>\n

Born in Punjab, India, Lakhesar moved to Canada with her family when she was six years old. She attended OCAD University, earning a bachelor of fine arts and majoring in sculpture and installation. Not having realized that being an artist was a possible career, watching fellow students and professors influenced her and, by her third year, she decided she could make it work.<\/p>\n

When she graduated, Babbu the Painter was born and she started creating and selling Indian-inspired pop art prints to voice the issues first and second generation South Asian millennials face in North America. Her paintings often depict gender politics in the South Asian community. Bollywood and the Mughal era are major influences in her work, and she often paints nude women. Lakhesar\u2019s parents are supportive of her work, but admit that the subject of her paintings are not easy to talk about in the community.<\/p>\n

In 2015, she launched her brand with a focus on creating online content and bold fashion pieces for her widespread audience. Her Bad Beti (bad daughter) art show and her Bakwaas (meaning bullshit in Hindi and Urdu) clothing collection have gained the attention of many, including Mindy Kaling, who is one of her over 50,000 Instagram followers. Kaling not only wore one of Lakhesar\u2019s Bakwaas denim jackets but also featured her art on season five of her show, The Mindy Project<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Lakhesar has inspired artists from everywhere to embrace their dual identities. She has been featured on Flare<\/em> magazine\u2019s How I Made It list and BuzzFeed<\/em> India and in Harper\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Bazaar<\/em> India, Times of India<\/em> and the Toronto Star<\/em>, among others.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1509983502764{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Bakwaas ~ Babbuthepainter<\/strong><\/p>\n