By Jaimie Julia Winters
When Smriti Sangal was three or four years old in New Delhi, her mother handed her a pair of sharp scissors—much to her grandmother’s alarm. While her mother taught classes, young Sangalwould sit nearby, cutting random shapes from paper, learning dexterity through trust and creative freedom.
One day, that freedom led to an unfortunate incident with her grandmother’s bedsheet. When confronted, Sangal blamed the family dog. Her mother, wise and playful, went along with the story but gently warned that if “the dog” did it again, Smriti would face consequences.
That moment planted a seed that would grow into Sangal’s entire teaching philosophy: art isn’t about perfection—it’s about the process, the loosening up, the permission to make mistakes and keep going.
From Delhi to London to Kearny
Sangal’s path has been one of constant crossings. After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College of Art at Delhi University, she moved to London for her Master of Fine Arts at Wimbledon College of Art. In 2015, she returned to New Delhi to co-found Culture Chauraha with her mother, Ritu Sangal. The name itself—”Chauraha,” meaning “crossroads” in Hindi—captured their vision of a place where ideas, people, and cultures meet through art.
What began as a blog in 2014 transformed into a vibrant studio offering workshops in nearly 40 creative mediums for children and adults. They partnered with institutions like Google Arts & Culture and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, creating a space where self-expression came without stress, where emotional growth happened alongside technical skill.
When the pandemic hit, Sangal brought workshops online to keep creativity accessible when the world felt closed.
Then in 2023, another crossing: Sangal moved to the U.S., settling in Kearny, New Jersey. Once again, she would need to be flexible, open, adaptive—qualities that moving between cultures had taught her well.
Art at the library: Creativity without barriers
In 2025 alone, Sangal led over 150 workshops across 15 New Jersey counties and New York City, reaching more than 3,000 participants. She teaches at 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, The Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, and libraries throughout Hudson, Essex, Union, Burlington, Cape May, and Sussex counties.
It was a class in Bedminster that opened the door to her library work—and that work has become central to her mission. “Art needs to be accessible to all,” she says. “That’s why I love doing it at the library.”
The library is the perfect crossroads: free, welcoming, community-centered. No one needs to identify as an “artist” to walk through the doors.
Coffee workshop: Beauty in simplicity
One workshop, in particular, affirms Sangal’s belief that creativity truly is for everyone: her coffee painting class.
“It’s just coffee, a paintbrush, and paper,” she explains. “It’s similar to watercolor but doesn’t dry up right away, so it’s more forgiving and creates a beautiful sepia tone. People really love it.”
The simplicity disarms people who think they can’t paint. The familiar smell of coffee feels like home. The forgiving medium doesn’t punish mistakes—it invites them, transforms them into texture and depth.
This is what Sangal learned from her mother all those years ago, scissors in hand: you can spill water, your hand can shake, the line won’t be straight. A mistake can become part of the art. You don’t rip it up and start over. You keep going.
One student called Sangal a “great mentor to learn from.”
A Vision Rooted in Two Worlds
Sangal’s multidisciplinary practice spans painting, drawing, printmaking, and enameling. But her deepest commitment is to her students. “I hope they discover confidence,” she says. “You shouldn’t reject the whole piece because of one mistake.”
Her teaching is shaped by both her Indian roots and her life in London and America. She brings the warmth of Delhi’s creative communities and the global perspective of London’s art world to suburban New Jersey, creating spaces where people from different backgrounds share stories through making.
“Community is centric to what I do,” she reflects, “whether in a blog, a class, the library, here or in India. It gives us an opportunity to listen to each other’s stories from different cultures.”
The crossroads ahead
Looking to the future, Sangal envisions Culture Chauraha as a haven where art nurtures mental well-being, self-discovery, and community connection. “Creating art gives you time to pause and stop all the noise,” she says. “It’s very meditative.”
For an immigrant artist building community in spaces like Kearny, the work is personal. After teaching that breakthrough class in Bedminster, she saw how hungry people were for accessible creativity. “People should access their library,” she says. “There’s so much there, and it’s free.” She and the library director are planning more free art classes for 2026, including Oil Pastel Safari on March 18, Paper Flower workshop on March 31, and Painting with Tea on April 18.
To learn more about Culture Chauraha’s workshops or to schedule a session, contact Sangal at smriti@culturechauraha.com or follow @culturechaurahausa on Instagram.
Jaimie Julia Winters chronicles the stories that shape New Jersey communities as a freelance writer for Kearny Life and Community Sentinel and former editor at The South Bergenite, Ridgewood News, Community News, The Record, and Jersey Catholic.