South Asian Artists in North America - SAANA

06/14/2026

Our group was founded thirteen years ago.

05/30/2026

❤️

When Bhavitha Mandava boarded the subway in Brooklyn one day in mid-2024, she had no inkling that it would end up being a life-changing ride.

The Hyderabad-born Mandava, then a New York University grad student majoring in design and media, caught the eye of a modeling agent.

His pitch that walking the ramp could help pay off her student debt was compelling. Within a fortnight, Mandava was in Milan, making her catwalk debut for Italian luxury fashion house Bottega Veneta.

Read more about this year's honorees: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ranawehbe/2026/05/27/from-bhanvitha-mandava-to-tarmo-peltokoski-meet-the-30-under-30-asia-rising-stars-shining-on-the-global-stage/?utm_campaign=ForbesMainFB&utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&utm_medium=social (Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

05/20/2026

Hello everyone, our own Anand Rao is directing the renowned Actor and Writer, Girish Karnad's last play. Please attend if you can.

05/14/2026

Madhubani — one of India's most ancient and enduring folk art traditions.

Originating in Bihar and Nepal's Mithila region over 2,500 years ago, Madhubani paintings were traditionally created by women using twigs, fingers, and natural dyes on mud walls and floors.

Today, artists are bringing this sacred tradition onto canvas and into contemporary galleries worldwide — keeping the stories of nature, mythology, and everyday life alive.

Save this post & tag a friend who should know about Madhubani 🌸

05/13/2026

Meet Salman Toor, one of the most important figurative painters working today. 🎨
Born in Lahore and based in New York, Toor's intimate, lush canvases portray q***r South Asian men navigating desire, identity, and belonging in the modern world. His work has been shown at MoMA PS1, the Whitney Museum, and is collected internationally.

There's something radical about centering Brown, q***r joy on canvas, and doing it with the tenderness of an Old Master.

Who is YOUR favourite South Asian painter? Drop them below 👇

04/15/2026

We are so proud of chef Vikas Khanna.

Reposting from

I have no words to fully express my gratitude for being named among TIME’s Most Influential People of 2026.

What a moment—for Indian cuisine, for our culture, for every story that began in a humble kitchen.

Who would have imagined that a boy from the narrow lanes of Amritsar—who struggled to run with other kids, who knew that rolling breads at Golden Temple would lead to the biggest platform in the World, who chose cooking as an act of rebellion, who once sold chole bhature as a small dream—would one day find his name among the world’s most influential voices.

This is not just my journey of 41 years of consistency.
This belongs to every mother, every teacher, every sister, every hand that believed, and every plate that carried a story forward.

Tatasthu.

Thank you for being my support for decades. and you are my first family in the U.S. 🧿🧿

01/08/2026

❤️

12/31/2025

Wishing all our members a Happy and Prosperous 2026.

12/10/2025

I had the pleasure of attending a “Private Screening” of a lovely French film called Her Song, with Kalki Koechlin in the lead. After the screening, I spoke with her about her future projects, and told her about our group. She sends this message to our members.