Northampton-based visual artist gains international recognition through British Council Exhibition
Northampton-based visual artist Amritha Jalaja Devi is developing an international profile in contemporary figurative painting after being selected for the British Council Study UK Creative Connections 2026 exhibition in New Delhi, India.
Her selected artwork, Shared Silence (2024), reflects the central concerns of her practice: memory, migration, belonging, rest, wellbeing and human connection. Her work is informed by the experience of living between India and the United Kingdom, exploring the emotional relationship between home, identity, cultural transition and everyday human experience.
The British Council selection represents an important milestone in an artistic journey that has developed across both countries.
Amritha completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts, Kerala, before moving to the UK to study for an MA in Contemporary Arts Practice at De Montfort University, Leicester. During her postgraduate study, she continued to develop a contemporary figurative language focused on personal memory, displacement, belonging and the emotional experience of place.
Her wider artistic experience includes participation in Varavazhikal, a collaborative public-art project associated with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale Foundation in Kerala. The project strengthened her interest in creating work beyond conventional gallery settings and in exploring how art can engage with public spaces and communities.
Since establishing her practice in the UK, Amritha has continued to work across painting, exhibitions and commissioned projects. Her professional work includes large-scale mural commissions in Leicester, drawing on Kerala’s cultural and visual heritage and translating those influences into a contemporary UK setting.
Speaking about her British Council selection, Amritha said:
“Being selected for the British Council Study UK Creative Connections exhibition is a significant moment in my artistic journey. My work is deeply connected to memory, migration and belonging, so having the opportunity to present it through an international platform was especially meaningful to me.”
She added:
“Living between India and the UK has changed the way I understand home, identity and cultural memory. These experiences continue to influence the figures, spaces and quiet emotional moments that appear in my work.”
Now based in Northampton, Amritha is continuing to develop her professional practice through painting, public art, commissioned projects and community-based creative work, with a growing focus on creating meaningful connections between people, place and cultural identity.