Sanjay Patel and Chiraag Bhakta

A Conversation with Sanjay Patel (@GheeHappy) + Chiraag Bhakta (@PardonMyHindi), moderated by Assistant Professor of Cinema Dakota Nanton. See attached flyer below. 

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Tuesday, Nov. 8

6 p.m. | Wilde Auditorium / Harry Jack Gray Center 

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Please join us this Tuesday, Nov. 8, for a conversation hosted by Designer/Artist Chiraag Bhakta (Artist-in-Residence), with guest artist/animator Sanjay Patel. They discovered each other's work on the internet in 2006 and instantly connected. Later finding out their parents, who came to America at different times, had lived in neighboring villages in Gujarat (India) 4 miles apart. They both grew up in independent motels—Sanjay in California, Chiraag in New Jersey. Both chose to start their career in the commercial arts, but came to explore their personal work in two very different ways.

 

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Sanjay Patel was an animator and storyboard artist for Pixar Animation Studios for 20+ years, starting in 1995. In 2015 Pixar released Patel’s short film Sanjay’s Super Team, which was nominated for an Oscar. He is also the writer/illustrator of a number of books and is the creator of the Ghee Happy, an animated series for Netflix, premiering early next year. 

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Chiraag Bhakta is the 2022–23 Whitney Artist in Residence at the Hartford Art School. He is a multidisciplinary artist, whose practice is rooted in collecting objects and stories from various times and environments, building upon a theme. The work draws from his training as a graphic designer and varies in medium including Printmaking, Collage, Photography, and Assemblage.