Ragini Upadhyayay, a renowned Nepalese Artist and NEPAL’S FIRST WOMAN CHANCELLOR (Former) of the Nepal Academy of Fine Art (2014-2018). She graduated in Fine Arts from Lucknow College of Arts, India in 1982, and received a British Council fellowship for Printmaking in 1987-88 at Peacock Printmakers, Aberdeen, Scotland and Oxford Printmakers, Oxford, U.K. Further, she received a grant in 1989-90 for Printmaking at Kunst Academy, Stuttgart, Germany. She received the Kate and Robert Wilson Prize, Bradford, U.K. in 1984 and the National Award in 1979, 1985, and 1988. She was awarded the Late King and Queen – Birendra Ashwarya Memorial Medal in 2002. Other accolades include the Best Award – 100 years of Lucknow College of Arts – 2011, Toran Kumari Memorial Award – 2013, Bhadra Kumari Sewa Sadan Award – 2014, Sahamati Award – 2016, Sabda Kosh Mahila Pratibha Award – 2018, Lunkaran-Gangadevi Arniko Award – 2021, and the National Award by the Ministry of Culture, Nepal – 2023, among many others.

She has been a visiting lecturer at Lahti Fine Art Academy and Pekka Art Academy, Helsinki, and Turku College of Arts, Turku, Finland in 1996 and 2009, as well as at Karachi School of Art, Indus School of Art, Karachi, Pakistan in 1996. She also taught at the School of Art and Design, Jamshoro, Sindh in 2006-2007. She gave talks at the Helsingborg Museum, Helsingborg, Sweden in 1998-99, Oulu University, Oulu, Finland in 1998, FOMMA, Karachi in 2010, National Art Gallery, Islamabad in 2011, Welt Museum, Austria in 2019, Viacom Center for Contemporary Art, Vietnam in 2019, Suzhou Library, China in 2020, Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts, USA in 2022, Daniel High School, Madison, USA in 2022, and Poppenhusen Institute, College Point, New York in 2022.

She has held 70 solo exhibitions in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Poland, India, China, Pakistan, Japan, Hong Kong, Nepal, and many group shows in the Netherlands, U.K., Italy, Belgium, Thailand, Bangladesh, Germany, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. Her works are in private collections in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, U.K., Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Poland, Netherlands, USA, China, Japan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, etc. She has attended many national and international workshops. Her works are in the collection of the SAARC Building, Kathmandu, Tribhuvan Airport, Nepal Television, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Late King Birendra Art Gallery, World Bank office – Kathmandu, World Bank museum collection – Headquarters, USA, State Academy, Lucknow – India, Ministry of Culture – Beijing, China, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka – Japan, Bradford Museum, Bradford, U.K., and private collections in many countries.