Artist, Academic, and Other Identities

sahana (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Vancouver, BC, intent on exploring their relationship with the world around them through art.

Influenced by her ancient Tamil heritage, she works to stir conversation around power, politics, and justice through her works. They learned to wade through a tangle of stories and perspectives, having moved every 3-4 years of their childhood, gaining a great intrigue for culture & complexity.

She does this through her passion for social, cultural, and environmental psychology and her pursuit of transformative social justice. Strike a conversation with them about structural barriers faced by historically marginalized communities at your own peril - they might just go off for hours…

A curious learner and explorer, she hopes to use her voice to raise questions that matter, as well as contribute to the conversation in meaningful (and often chaotic) ways.

Values & Beliefs

  • The whole is undoubtedly greater than the sum of its parts. I believe we are capable of creating beautiful things when we work together rather than lose our energy competing against one another. Imagine what we could do if we pooled our resources and looked to broaden & deepen our lives!

  • Reconciliation and decolonization are as complex as they are essential. From the land I have settled on to the land I am from, colonization has deeply warped local culture & identity. It is my mission to untangle from this web and explore the cultures that build my identity thoroughly.

  • Integrity is a loaded word. The obvious implications include having a well-defined sense of ethical & moral values. I believe that alongside that, it also describes an eagerness to (un/re)learn & hold space to redefine those values given new information. This is a commitment to stay malleable yet grounded at all times possible.

  • It’s easy to think of life as a collection of finished products. However, I believe that a lot of it is a growing process, with non-linear movement across time and space. Given this framework, I strive to build sustainable structures and systems so that those at different points in this ongoing process can have access to all that I engage with (and hopefully be able to build on it with ease).

  • Over time, academic structures have been set up to validate quantitative data over qualitative experiences at many levels. This bias has led to the discounting of important information that we can gather from those that may not meet the criteria to be of scholarly importance. I believe there can be great insight from engaging with the qualitative understanding and strive to recognize the value that it brings into conversations.

Work & Awards

  • Social Policy for Justice, Diversity & Inclusion, University of Michigan

    July 2023*

  • San'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program,

    April 2023

  • Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia

    March 2020

Diversity Statement

A passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion has been central to my interests in both educational and professional capacities for a long time. As a research-oriented person within the social/cultural psychology field, my primary goal is to understand historical disparities and how they trickle down to create institutional barriers for entire communities of people worldwide. I believe that building strong action plans to deconstruct an unjust status quo must be preceded by critical evaluations of existing social structures. 

My research and professional interests extend to understanding the impact that systemic inequity has on individuals, and how that shapes perceptions of people based on facets of identities that have been historically marginalized. I strive to carry this learning forward as a tool that can aid in dismantling these barriers, further creating safe and conducive spaces for true equity and inclusion. It is also my belief that diversity in perspectives could be an important factor in reaching sustainable and impactful solutions to large-scale issues faced by human communities as a whole.

Share something with me!

(I’m all ears)

sahanababuv@gmail.com
(778) 522 0258

Vancouver, BC
Unceded & occupied territory of the Coast Salish Peoples