BALTIMORE, MD.- The Baltimore Museum of Art today announced the selection of Anoushka Mirchandani for the third year of the Sherman Family Foundation Residency in Maine. Mirchandani (b. 1988, Pune, India) uses painting to confront the complexities of identity across shifting contexts—an ongoing process of locating and relocating her sense of self following the artist’s emigration from India to the United States in 2006. Over the past decade, the San Francisco-based artist has been exploring the layered nature of selfhood with paintings centered on figures suspended between repose and action—often women posed with quiet confidence, unbothered by expectations of modesty or restraint. Their bodies dissolve into surrounding forms, delineated only by gestures of oil stick or pastel. The tension between bold poses and vanishing contours evokes questions of visibility and vulnerability: what parts of ourselves do we suppress, and what do we allow to emerge in unfamiliar spaces?

The Sherman Family Foundation Residency was established in 2024 through a generous financial gift from the Sherman Family Foundation and in collaboration with philanthropists Betsy Sherman and her son Michael Sherman, a longtime BMA Trustee. Program awardees are jointly chosen by BMA curators and the Shermans following a selection process guided by the museum. The program hosts one artist each summer at the Shermans’ studio space in Maine and the selected artist is given free lodging, a $5,000 stipend, and financial support for supplies and travel costs. The artist also has opportunities to meet with BMA curators and leadership in Maine to discuss their work and receive mentorship. After each residency, the museum will acquire a work by the artist for its collection.

“We are delighted that Anoushka Mirchandani has been selected for the Sherman Family Foundation Residency this year. Appropriating vastly different visual styles, her canvases are incisive explorations of belonging—at once deeply personal and communally resonant,” said Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “As the BMA deepens its commitment to amplifying narratives from the Global South, supporting artists at pivotal moments in their careers from this part of the world becomes essential. Anoushka is an artist on the rise, and this residency offers the space, time, and freedom to experiment that will allow her work to thrive. We are extremely grateful to Betsy and Michael Sherman for their generosity, collaboration, and shared commitment to uplifting artists.”

The idea for the residency program first emerged when Betsy and Michael Sherman hosted Brooklyn-based artist Alexander Harrison (b. 1993, Greenville, SC) in a studio space at their home in Maine in 2023. During his time in Maine, Harrison produced the painting Mt. Hatchet (2023), which captures a view of the summit of the mountain through the artist’s hands. With the support of the Shermans, the work was later acquired by the BMA. The experience led to a series of conversations with the museum about creating more consistent pathways for supporting artists in alignment with BMA leadership’s own previously articulated interests in establishing new types of collaborations. Since then, the residency has hosted artists Kenturah Davis (b. 1980, Los Angeles, CA) in 2024 and Arvie Smith (b. 1938, Houston, TX) in 2025.

“The partnership with the BMA has been incredibly productive and fulfilling, as we work together to directly engage artists and provide the tools necessary for experimentation and creation. Maine has long been a place of inspiration for artists, and we hope it continues to spark new ideas and breakthroughs as new artists spend time here during the residency,” said Michael Sherman. “We are excited to welcome Anoushka this summer and continue the residency experience.”

Anoushka Mirchandani

Solo exhibitions of Mirchandani’s work have been presented at Institute of Contemporary Art (San Jose, 2026); Yossi Milo (New York, 2024); Galerie Isa (Mumbai, 2023); UTA Artist Space (Los Angeles, 2023); Rhodes Contemporary (London, 2021); and Glass Rice Gallery (San Francisco, 2020). In 2025, her film Landscapes of Longing(2024) screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of New Directors/New Films. Her work is in the collections of the Asian Art Museum (San Francisco); the Museum of Art and Photography (Bangalore); and Northwestern University (Chicago); in addition to numerous private collections. She is currently an artist-in-residence at Silver Art Projects (New York).

Mirchandani’s New York institutional solo debut will take place at the FLAG Art Foundation from May 27 to July 30, 2026. Anoushka Mirchandani: Everyone You Love Lives Herebrings together new and recent paintings from three distinct yet interconnected and ongoing series, tracing the artist’s development of new and ever-evolving formal strategies for exploring how identity exists in a constant state of flux and formation, of assembly and negotiation. In August of 2026, Mirchandani will be included in Never The Same River, curated by Dexter Wimberly, at the Ford Foundation in New York.

Betsy Sherman and Michael Sherman

Betsy Sherman is a lifelong educator and advocate for children and families. She and her late husband, George, established the Sherman Family Foundation in 1995. Her passion for childhood advocacy began early in her life and continues through her focus on educational opportunities for children and their families. Following graduation from Tufts University with a degree in early childhood education, she was fortunate to be one of the first Head Start teachers in Kentucky. These early teaching experiences in Kentucky and rural Virginia drove her desire to help disadvantaged youth. Betsy has been an active board member at the Family Tree for nearly 40 years and has served on several other non-profit boards.

Michael Sherman is a movie producer who co-founded Bow and Arrow Entertainment (www.bowandarrow.la), a production company that focuses on artist driven narrative and documentary pictures. Bow and Arrow has had 14 films premiere at the Sundance film festival as well as many other festivals throughout the world. His recent film HORSEGIRLS will be in theaters this summer and A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY is available on VOD and DVD now. March 13th Films is a new beginning and new chapter for him. He just finished producing the first film under the new banner LOSER a debut film from writer and director Colleen McGuiness starring Angourie Rice, Finn Bennett, Lukas Gage, and Julia Fox. Sherman is also a devoted patron of the arts.