The month of March is known and celebrated as Women’s History Month in the United States. This month, we chose to spotlight some of our female members who have contributed to the growth and artistry present here at WNYBAC to celebrate this year’s Women’s History Month!
Meet Sweety Kabra, one of our Studio Volunteers & Teaching Artists. “Yes, Sweety is my birth name given to me by my grandparents and I kept it,” Sweety said about her unique name. She is from India and moved to the United States 2 years ago after getting married. Love brought her here to Buffalo. She has come to love Buffalo over time and she could not have hoped for a better place to call home.
“When I moved here I had no connections, no family, not many friends. But I had my interests and likings,” Sweety said about finding stuff to keep her busy here. She had been involved in some paper crafts when she lived in India and had instructed a couple of workshops. She hoped she would find activities and events here that will interest her.
Sweety hit a changing point when she got the opportunity to attend some Art Fairs and Craft events here in Buffalo. She said it immediately made her realize that she wanted to do something in the Arts field. This ultimately led her to apply for a volunteer position with WNYBAC. Once she was accepted, she started volunteering and assisting teaching artists during workshops. So far, it has been a year and she has been lucky enough to get so many opportunities to learn, assist, conduct and organize workshops and Craft events with us at WNYBAC.
Some of Sweety’s Art Designs and Crafts
Sweety’s craft work consists of paper crafts, personalized gifts and Henna designs. “My motivation to pursue arts come from the fact that hand crafted things are beautiful and unique. I feel that I can portray my feelings and emotions through my art and spread joy and happiness in the world,” she said regarding her artistry. She has a couple of upcoming Henna workshops later this spring, which you can find on WNYBAC website.
She thinks being very persistent about what she wanted to do and pursuing her passion for arts was a good choice. “I was also fortunate to meet like minded people at WNYBAC [who] considered me and gave me an opportunity.”
Sweety wants to use her art to spread the happiness and love around her and share beautiful designs from another part of the world here in Buffalo.
Sweety designing Henna on a customer
Looking towards Women’s History month, she states that as a woman in the world the possibilities today are endless. “[As a woman] You just have to stick to your passion and keep believing in yourself. Most importantly you have to have a support system, someone who believes in you and gives you that confidence.” Sweety appreciates WNYBAC because we give her a lot of inspiration, and it is all thanks to the many amazing women who work here.
“I want to take this opportunity and congratulate every woman and wish them a Happy Women’s Month!”