Sharika Mahdi – Made in the Big Easy!

Have you ever looked at a painting and found yourself wanting to sway your hips, followed by your shoulders, your head and before you know it, you are dancing to music that you swear is emanating from that painting? You stop and have a quick look around to make sure that nobody saw you letting loose…

That is what happens when you see Sharika Mahdi’s paintings. There is so much movement in her work, and a wealth of atmosphere. They ooze New Orleans, the city where she was born. Evoking good music, dance, food and drink, infusing it in its own brand of the special Big Easy spirit. The city with over 350 years of history is known for its abundance of fun, amalgamation of ethnicities, cultural creativity, underlined and enhanced with the realities of life and death, with the spirit world full of voodoo and ghosts being a part of the story. Mahdi’s work encompasses it all and makes you feel alive and grateful to be so.

There are few straight lines in Mahdi’s work. Her lines are clean and fluid, flowing from one component to the next and bathed in vibrant colors. She takes inspiration from the rich world around her, a jazz band playing on the street, a child’s smile, a group of friends sitting and chatting on the front porch of a shotgun house, enjoying the weather and soaking in the sun. She transfers their energy and joy onto the canvas. Her vibe is happy and peaceful, with a sprinkle of hope.

It came as no surprise when Disney called. Looking for inspiration for the new attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, based on the animated movie The Princess and the Frog, the Disney Imagineers called on the New Orleans-based artist to give them inspiration and a taste of the local flavor. Mahdi was commissioned to create four paintings and was given total artistic control on what she delivered. Themes and colors from her paintings were included in the new attraction which has already opened in Disney World, Florida and another will open at Disneyland, California later this year. Opportunities like this are starting to emerge for Mahdi. Some would say it’s good luck, and there may be a little of that, but she has worked very hard and paid her dues in the artworld for many years.

Sharika Mahdi grew up in a large family bathed in this New Orleans flavor. As a small child she often spent time drawing with a pencil and paper. At school she was further encouraged by her teacher Madeleine Neske. In 10th grade, while attending the vocational Rabouin High School, she was invited to be a part of a group show at a local gallery. She didn’t sell her work during the opening event, but later that evening, she got a call telling her that she had sold! This gave her a taste for the business end of the art world.

A degree from Louisiana State University in communications and a minor in the arts followed. A master’s in public relations came next. She went on to work in the corporate world, in fashion, in event management, with a non-profit and currently she teaches art to middle school children. During all this time, she continued to pursue her art. She sold art on the streets around Jackson Square, in the French Quarter, to tourists, learning the push and pull of making art that sells fast versus what she wanted to artistically and intrinsically create, while also dealing with the daily troubles of handling the homeless who loitered, finding parking and living with the vagaries of the weather. She took part in art fairs including the Jazz and Heritage Festival, learning to research and understand the buyers that each event attracted. Starting with few resources and little network, she worked to build both. It was not easy, as all working artists know. There were many years of depressing times, much trial and error, fighting discouragement and negativity, and yet somehow persevering.

She also continued to work with YAYA (Young Aspirations/Young Artists), created by Jana Napoli, who first showed Mahdi’s art in her gallery. YAYA is a non-profit arts and social service organization, whose mission is to empower creative young people to become successful adults. YAYA does this by providing educational experiences in the arts and entrepreneurship to New Orleans-area youth, and by fostering and supporting their ambitions. It was through this organization that Disney found Mahdi.

Today, there are new projects in the pipeline, and she has an agent, Beryl Basham, but she is also working on her lesson plan for her students who will be back at school with her in the fall. In terms of her art, she is exploring abstraction with definitive ideas of working with the full color wheel to evoke the feelings and emotions of New Orleans, alongside her own indomitable spirit. She shares her personal secrets with her students, “Work hard, know who you are, be true to yourself, and don’t be scared to take creative risks.”

Laissez les bons temps rouler — may the good times roll for Sharika Mahdi. G&S