Manish Harijan work donated to the Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust

It was really special to see Manish Harijan’s work Shaman (unseen Untouchable) 2019 displayed as part of the Identity exhibition at Graves Gallery as we attended the new display launch last week in Sheffield!

We supported Manish, Nepali contemporary artist now living in Sheffield, to secure his artist visa in 2021 and he was successfully nominated through us to have his work acquired for the Nation through the Government Art Collection in 2020.

In recognition of this support, Manish very kindly donated a work to us at YVAN and we have in turn donated the piece to the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust to be part of their permanent collection for wider public benefit for years to come!

Pictured above at the Graves Gallery launch event is Sharon Gill (CEO at YVAN), Manish Harijan (Contemporary Artist) and Alison Morton (Head of Exhibitions, Sheffield Museum).

More about Manish’s story:

Manish Harijan’s artistic expression comes from a lived experience of caste discrimination and navigates the injustices inflicted on vulnerable populations around the world. Bold, captivating and provocative, Manish’ artwork has brought both opportunity and struggle.
Born in the western Himalayas to a family of the ‘untouchable caste’, the Dalit, Manish helped his father in his work as a shoemaker. Schooling was unaffordable so Manish learnt craftsmanship at an early age, and also explored found materials available around him such as bamboo and clay to create art.

Orphaned in his mid-teens, Manish was brought to the attention of Krishna Karki, the founder of SWAN, a Nepalese charity. They sponsored his education and, with a constant curiosity to explore creativity, Manish had the motivation and support to study Fine Art. 

In a shocking turn of events during his first solo art exhibition at the Siddhartha Art Gallery in Kathmandu, the gallery was vandalised and Manish was sent death threats, accused of being anti-Hindu for portraying Hindu gods in superhero costumes. The exhibition was shut down, court cases were filed and UNESCO issued a press release to support the artist’s freedom of expression.

Forced into hiding and needing to flee, an earlier connection with two Rotherham-based founding members of a charity called PHASE that empowers isolated communities in Nepal through sustainable programmes in health, education, and livelihoods, eventually brought him to Sheffield for 6 months at first. After securing a place to study at Sheffield Hallam University and graduating in 2019, he was awarded the Dianne Willcocks Lifelong Learning award.

Manish has been supported through us at the Yorkshire & Humber Visual Art Network (YVAN) and our national body Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN) to secure his artist visa in 2021 and was successfully nominated through us to have his work acquired for the Nation through the Government Art Collection in 2020. In recognition of this support, Manish kindly donated the work Shaman (unseen Untouchable) 2019 to us and we have in turn donated the piece to the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust for wider public benefit!

Go visit Graves Gallery in Sheffield to see Manish’s work as part of their Identity Collection.