SHEININA RAJ
A prodigy Sheinina Raj was tabbed, unwittingly by her High School Art teacher to attend Canada’s prestigious Emily Carr University of Art + Design saving Sheinina from the brink of betraying her vocation to the leading edge of Contemporary Art making worldwide.
With twenty years of experience Raj’s professional career began in Toronto when the Art Director of Access Music Magazine asked her to photograph the 1998 Canadian Hip Hop scene. A legacy of Photographic artwork that graced the walls of the McMichael’s Canadian Art Collection Gallery. Available nationwide the Everything Remains Raw hardcover book published by McMichael’s features a Prelude written by Sarah Stanners the Director of Curatorial & Collections who references Raj’s art as important to Canada as the Group of 7. For this exhibition the Toronto Now Magazine’s feature story headlined Raj’s photography as “Iconic” for Canada.
In 2001 Grey McGear Modern the Los Angeles based gallery that represented Raj’s artwork called with
news that her exhibition had sold out, followed by a request for her to move to LA and continue to develop her international reputation.
Since then Sheinina has reopened Chinatown Los Angeles with her photographic light paintings projected onto Cirque Du Soleil performers and the architecture that frames Chung King Road. Her vision for a virtual park in the courtyard of the A+D Architecture and Design Museum served as an environment that came to life and aired as NBC’s Today in LA cover story. As the A/V Producer of the Genii Awards Raj projected her visual artwork onto the Skirball Cultural Center Auditorium creating the backdrop for Jay Leno as he honored Betty White with the coveted Life Time Achievement Award.
Raj continues her passion for arts and culture with Intercultural, an immersive vision and sound art experience that features a quadrophonic collaboration by Nelly Furtado. The conceptually rigorous detailed portfolio explores diversity through a collection of self-portraiture featuring artist Sheinina Raj arrayed in the traditional finery of 24 nations. Respectfully a humanitarian call for Sheinina, she stands to enlighten cultural ideologies, initiate respect for diversity and unify humanity for a peaceful coexistence worldwide.
In 2016 Sheinina launched the touring exhibition at the Elaine Fleck Gallery in Toronto prior to New York in 2017. As the destination exhibition at the Miami Design Preservation League Art Deco Museum Raj was honored with an Intercultural Day Proclamation from the City of Miami Beach. With the gracious support from Global Affairs Canada and the Embassy of Canada to the United Arab Emirates Intercultural exhibited at World Art Dubai where Sheinina received the “Most Innovative Artist” Award.
The Prime Minister of Canada the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau stated Sheinina Raj’s Intercultural art exhibition as, “The Best”.
The British Council awarded Sheinina Raj as a Presenter for her Intercultural Poster shown at their 2018
Going Global Conference Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Having met with Ingrid Leary of the British Council NZ Raj was commissioned to join the “A” team as a Fijian Artist for the launch of the opening plans for the new National Gallery of Contemporary Arts Fiji. Sheinina’s visual art projection on the exterior of the architecture spoke of ancestry, present day and a peaceful vision for the future.
Artist Talks with Knight Foundation Director of Communications Anusha Alikhan and LA Weekly Art Critic Shana Nys Dambrot have brought art to the forefront of dialogue discussing culture and identity, while encouraging a peaceful union in galleries and museums across America.
Unanimously Art Critics from, Miami Herald, Miami New Times, Huffington Post, Argonaut News and Fiji Sun have given Sheinina Raj critical acclaim.
A decorated artist Raj is a recipient of the 2018 International Photography Awards celebrated at Carnegie Hall in New York City. As the Tokyo International Foto Awards Gold Award winner Sheinina’s awarded artwork exhibited at the Shibuya Cultural Center, Japan, Feb. 2019.
Intercultural will next exhibit at the Lois Lambert Gallery at Bergamot Station May 2020 followed by the UN Head- quarters in Geneva with Fiji as the Host Nation in June 2020.