Sonia Bhamra is an award-winning, multidisciplinary artist and storyteller based in Birmingham, UK. Known for her narrative-driven approach to lens-based media, she holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art and describes her creative process as “painting with photography.” Her practice sits at the intersection of visual arts, photography, community engagement, and environmental consciousness, and is directly informed by her current MA in Arts & Education Practices, for which she was awarded the Gertrude Bowater Scholarship.

Under the ongoing project of Illusions of Maya, an Arts Council England–funded body of research rooted in her Sikh heritage, she explores climate consciousness through an intersectional lens. Rather than leading with data, she applies a philosophical approach to climate conversations. Her work asks: how can we shift perception to recognise our interdependence with the living world? Within this research sit The Illusion of Separation—the photographic series containing Dressed in Excess, recognised by the British Journal of Photography’s Decade of Change Award, and Save Our Forests, selected by Earth Photo and the ongoing investigation The Nature of Our Minds, an inquiry into urban green space as a portal to the subconscious.

Translating this research into practice, Bhamra has led nature-disconnection investigations with the Ikon Youth Programme at Ikon Gallery and developed co-creative social practices including Maya in Practice with Spectra and Brushstrokes Community Project. She has also led community workshops across Birmingham.