Rediscovering Her Voice
For Maliha Monsur, art is a language. Growing up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Maliha was surrounded by color, movement and meaning. From the rhythm of monsoon rains to the vibrancy of Bengali festivals, her world was rich with visual inspiration. As a child, she instinctively turned to art to hold onto those moments.
Color became my language before I even knew how to fully express myself with words.
Using crayons, pastels and watercolors, Maliha captured not only what she saw, but what she felt. Her early work focused on representation, but everything changed when she encountered the work of modern artist Maqbool Fida Husain. His abstract, expressive style opened a new way of thinking about art.
“I felt its freedom before I could explain it,” she muses.
An Unconventional Path Back to Art
Although Maliha had always dreamed of formally studying art, life did not unfold in the way she had once imagined.
After high school, she began preparing for admission into a B.F.A. program at University of Dhaka. But an unexpected accident changed everything: A severe burn to her left hand—the very hand with which she wrote and painted—made it impossible for her to sit for the entrance exam.
What felt like a temporary setback slowly turned into a turning point. Under family pressure to complete her undergraduate studies on time, Maliha enrolled in a different university, pursuing a degree far removed from her passion: a bachelor’s degree in social studies. But the flame for drawing and painting never left her.
“Even without formal training, I kept creating, learning through doing and feeling my way through both representation and abstraction,” she explains.
A move to the United States with her husband and a growing family, Maliha found a new rhythm of life.
Yet the desire to create never disappeared; it simply waited. During COVID-19, with the encouragement and support of her husband, a long-awaited opportunity finally emerged. Maliha took that first step and joined our Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts.
Returning With Purpose
Motivated to reconnect with her artistic identity, Maliha chose our program as it offers structure, flexibility and a serious approach to artistic development.
Returning to school after a gap reflects my renewed commitment to developing my artistic practice and to pursuing art more seriously.
Our program created space for her to grow, experiment and rediscover. “It gave me permission to be uncertain and to create without needing immediate answers,” she reflects.
Through critiques and conversations with peers and instructors, Maliha began to see her work in a new light. One of her most powerful breakthroughs came when she allowed her personal experiences to guide her art more authentically.
“My work began to feel more like me: more vulnerable, more intentional and more alive,” she explains.
By the end of the program, Maliha had developed a distinctive approach that she describes as abstract realism. Her work explores emotional experiences through layered compositions that blend representation and abstraction.
She also built a cohesive portfolio and strengthened her ability to speak about her work with confidence. And now Maliha is well on her way to meeting her next goal: acceptance into a Master of Fine Arts Program.
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts equipped me with the skills, clarity and confidence needed to take the next step in my artistic journey.
Looking back on her journey, Maliha reflects: “There’s something really meaningful about choosing to come back to learning, especially in a creative field. It’s not just about building skills. It’s about taking yourself seriously as an artist, maybe for the first time, and realizing it’s never too late.”
Sidebar:
Maliha’s Path to Artistic Realization
Modern Art: History and Theory
Contemporary Art: History and Theory
Post-Baccalaureate Seminar 1: Portfolio and Visual Dynamics
Post-Baccalaureate Seminar 2: Portfolio and Critique
Post-Baccalaureate Seminar 3: Portfolio and Professional Practices