Introduction of Jury for Annual Show 2018

Warm welcome to our jury member Hemlata Pradhan!

We at AWN would like to sincerely thank her for taking time out from her busy schedule to carefully go through so many artworks and score them. Really appreciate her kind support and looking forward for her guidance.

Hemlata Pradhan is a Botanical Illustrator who paints orchids and other plants and immortalizes them on paper. After completing her education in India in 1998, she went on to do a Diploma in Botanical Illustration from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K. through scholarship from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, Canada. In 2000, she was sponsored by the Association of Commonwealth Universities, London, U.K. to complete her Master’s in Natural History Illustration and Ecological Studies from the Royal College of Art, London.

Hemlata has exhibited in various countries and has been honored with several awards for her paintings including the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gold Medal in 1999 and the 18th World Orchid Conference Gold Medal in 2005 for her depiction of India’s Wild Orchids. The Department of Philately, the Royal Government of Bhutan, have used some of her paintings on their postage stamps and First Day Covers. In 2008, she was invited by the British Museum, London to exhibit her paintings at the Museum as well as hold workshops in Botanical art for the public. Hemlata serves as a member of the Education Committee of the Orchid Specialist Group, International Union for conservation of Nature and Natural resources/ Species Survival Commission. She presently lives and works in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India where she is also building the Himalayan Institute of Natural History Art in order to further her dream of combining art, education and conservation.