Surendra Lawoti was born in Nepal. After finishing his high school in Kathmandu, he moved to the US to pursue higher education. He received his BA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago (1999) and MFA in Photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2005) in Boston. He now lives in Toronto, where he teaches Photography as a Sessional Professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design University.
Surendra’s work stems out from his interest in social issues, politics, documentary, art and beauty. He is interested in individuals, social groups and their milieus, generally those on the periphery of the mainstream society. His current project, ‘This Country of Yours’ is based in Nepal, and it focuses on activists of six social and political movements including Women, Indigenous Nationalities and Dalits (‘Untouchable’ groups).
His work has been exhibited internationally including Gallery 44 and Harbourfront Centre in Toronto; Les Territoires in Montreal; O’Hare International Airport and Glass Curtain Gallery in Chicago; Gallery Kayafas, Photographic Resource Center and Tufts University Gallery in Boston; Nepal Association of Fine Arts in Kathmandu; the Goethe-Institut in New Delhi; and Galeria Ateneo Porfirio Barba Jacob in Medellín, Colombia. He has received awards from Artadia (Chicago), Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts Travel grant, Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Chicago and Somerville Arts Council. He has given numerous artist lectures including at Northeastern University, Montserrat College of Art, Emerson College, the New England Institute of the Art and Gallery 44.
He is represented by Gallery Kayafas in Boston.
