Multi—Hyphenate Shaina Shah on What Compels Her to Create Art

196 ground-breaking stories of inspiring women from every single nation in the world. These are women who learnt to stand so tall that it became impossible to look past them. Women who decided to be more than what people bargained for. Women who burned so brightly that they set the world on fire. And there’s one woman who stitches all their tell-tales together through her marquee idea ‘The Wow Women Project’ — Shaina Shah.

Each little legacy is told in three parts — through hand drawn portraits, stories and letters of advice written by each of the women, for other women.

Having spoken to so many wonderful women from around the world, Shaina has mastered the art of interviewing people and knows how to make the person in front of her feel at ease making for an insightful and soul touching conversation.

Seeing the enormity of the task she’s undertaken, I asked Shaina what inspired her to start this journey. Being a multi-hyphenate, Shaina spoke about her professional journey as an auditor at Ernst and Young and juggling her family’s businesses. But as she progressed up the career ladder, she noticed that a lot of women in her peer group were dropping out to start their families. As the women around her in a professional work environment started to dwindle, she noticed a lack of women mentors that she could look up to and who were able to successfully balance having families as well as working towards a greater ambition.

And that’s how Shaina started the journey of discovering, identifying and showcasing the stories of women from across the world who could be role models. For herself, her niece and all those young women who are seeking pathfinders to dream bigger.

Having been an artist all her life; Shaina trained with a mentor for 20 years and grew up in a lineage of artists, portraits were the medium of expression through which she chose to tell these stories. And thus the Wow Women Project was born.

Through this journey, Shaina has been able to find many points of commonality between women from completely different parts of the world. She shares an example of a story from Serbia, a woman who struggled when her first baby was born and shared so much in common with Shaina’s sister who herself had just adopted her first child. The women became close friends and still stay in touch today.

The Wow Women Project brings together all of her many passions — art, storytelling, and a deep desire to create an impact bigger than her. Shaina also mentions that the NGO her family works with in the field of women empowerment, has just completed 35 years, a feat she is very proud to have accomplished.

The process of curating these women is highly technical. Shaina starts by identifying what stage of development the specific country is in and then identifying the sectors in which women have struggled to find opportunity. She then shortlists 25 to 30 women who’ve made a mark in that sector and then reaches out to the top 10.

The nature of the project is so intriguing that one in ten of those women always responds to Shaina and willingly shares her story. Shaina then interviews and draws these women in her trademark hyper-realistic style. Which she has honed since she was a child by drawing the portraits of everyone around her, from her classmates to celebrities, making her quite popular in school!

While drawing the women, Shaina makes sure to ask them for their most real, unfiltered pictures, the messier the better so that she can bring their true essence alive.

At the start of the project, Shaina says she herself wasn’t aware of the impact these stories and portraits would have, only knowing that she was doing something meaningful to her and was in it for the long haul. She allows her instincts to guide her and connect with these women beyond the superficial, creating bonds that will last a lifetime.

One such bond that has stayed with her is the story of Tamanna Frotan of Afghanistan, a Taekwondo champion who won several gold medals but was forced to quit due to death threats to her and her family. Tamanna refused to leave her home and motherland, deciding to quit the sport instead. She went on to become a doctor and now trains girls in secret in the art of self-defence.

Shaina says stories like Tamanna’s leave a lasting impact on her. It made her realise that we all live in our own micro-bubbles, failing to see how connected we all are. Knowing that this connection exists has empowered her to strive towards telling more stories of impact.

Delving a little deeper into her art journey, Shaina shares how she started speaking quite late as a child. Painting is how she would communicate. And despite not choosing to do an art degree, Shaina always kept her passion alive by honing it. She often picks up her paintbrush even before picking up a toothbrush on some days!

As if this wasn’t enough, Shaina also produces films through her production house Limelight Productions, producing, editing and even acting in them!

I ask Shaina for the secret potion she drinks every morning to be able to accomplish all of this, and her answer is great management skills. She says that she has always had multiple passions, and done everything that interests her. As a creative person, she feels having one passion isn’t always enough — she needs 3. One that pays you well, one that motivates you and one that gives back. Shaina is doing it all and more. She ends with another great piece of advice she’s learnt as marathon runner — she feels it’s important not to spend all of your energy in the first few kms.

Multiple to-do lists, a lot of systems and processes in place and also knowing when to give yourself a day off is what keeps Shaina going. This and the huge support system that grounds her.

I end my conversation with this Superwoman by asking her if she would include her own portrait in the WOW project. While she draws a lot of self portraits, Shaina feels that the story she’s trying to tell through WOW is bigger than her and there are a lot of women she needs to feature before she includes herself. Although in our eyes, Shaina has already inspired us so much through her story and we can’t wait to see what else she accomplishes, as we cheer her on from the sidelines.