Hiral Bhagat is an emerging visual artist, art educator and an international award-winning calligrapher based in Gujarat, India. She experiments with media such as paper, wood, and steel to render expressive and abstract works. Adept in Gujarati, Devanagari, Roman and Modi scripts, she breathes new life by taking them beyond their literal meaning, and scales them into compositions to narrate stories of belonging, urban culture and migration. Through her work, she seeks to highlight the gradual loss and dilution of languages, especially Gujarati which is her mother-tongue, by fore-fronting poetry and literature, and hopes to revive it by appealing to her audience with her unique visual vocabulary.
Bhagat’s work has been shown internationally in the United States, Singapore, and South Korea. Her solo exhibitions include, CALLIKAVYA at Amdavad ni Gufa, Gujarat (2022) and THE CALLIGRAPHY OF BELONGING at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai (2025). Her work has also been featured in numerous exhibitions and festivals in India, including Birla Academy of Art & Culture in Kolkata, The Stainless Gallery in Delhi, Nehru Centre Art Gallery in Mumbai, Kanoria Centre for Arts in Ahmedabad, Indo- Iran art & Calligraphy Exchange by Iran Embassy in Mumbai, Iranian National Commission for UNESCO “Silk Road Calligraphy” project, Kochi-Muziris Biennale’s satellite exhibition, and and the 1st Art, Architecture and Design Biennale, Red Fort, Ministry of Culture in Delhi. Her work has been featured in the International Calligraphy magazine, ‘Letter Arts Review’ (2023), ‘Slanted’ (2024), and ‘Art Illustrated’ magazine (2025). She regularly conducts workshops and live demonstrations across premier institutions such as Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Gandhinagar, and CEPT University, Anant National University and Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. Her works have been acquired in various private, and esteemed state government collections such as the Gujarat Literature Festival and the Alembic group. She was invited to contribute to ‘The Legacy Project’ by 100 Pipers, India’s is a multi-year initiative by Pernod Ricard India.
Academically, Bhagat is trained in Applied Arts from C. N. College of Fine Arts, Ahmedabad (2002). Her expertise in Roman and Devanagari scripts were furthered by workshops from Padma Shree Achyut Palav’s School of Calligraphy (2013–2016), as well as received mentorship from Dr. Santosh Kshirsagar and world-renowned calligraphers such as Brody Neuenschwander, Marina Soria, Yukimi Annand, and Massimo Polello.
