S4E162: Shravani Dang on Art, Corporate Leadership, and Building ArtAdda: A Life of Two Worlds
What does it look like to build two extraordinary lives and refuse to let either one shrink? Shravani Dang has spent three decades doing exactly that, rising to Vice President at Avantha, serving on global boards, & simultaneously collecting art, founding ArtAdda, documenting food history, & writing fiction. In this conversation, she talks about the instinct that built a creative community, what the corporate world taught her that art never could, & why culinary heritage is a story worth telling before it disappears. She also gives us a glimpse into her short story collection, There's an Elephant in My Garden, and what the elephant really is.
The AboutHer Show is ranked in the Top 3 Indian Women's Leadership Podcasts on Feedspot 2026.
Chapters:
🎬 (0:00) IntroductionMeet Shravani Dang
artist, archivist, raconteuse, & the woman who built two extraordinary lives at once.
💼 (3:02) Two Lives, One Woman
On running a high-powered corporate career & a rich creative life in parallel, & never feeling the need to choose.
🏆 (4:29) The VP Years
What it took to rise to Vice President at Avantha, & what the artist in her brought to the boardroom.
🎨 (6:32) Building ArtAdda
How a studio experiment became a thriving collective of artists united by creativity and dialogue.
👁️ (9:03) Where Everyone Listens With Their Eyes
The story behind ArtAdda's remarkable tagline & what true listening really looks like.
🖼️ (11:03) Thirty Years of Collecting
On falling in love with original art, what draws her to a piece, & what it means to live with art.
📖 (14:19) Documenting Food History
Why culinary heritage is worth preserving, & how the archivist in her approaches a meal.
🐘 (20:58) There's an Elephant in My Garden
On writing short fiction, the stories that insist on being told, & what the elephant really is.
❤️ (24:19) CARE India and the Not-for-Profit World
What leading in the social sector demands of a person, & why it stays with you.
🌍 (26:57) The Polyglot Traveller
How language & place change what you notice about art, food, & people.
🥇 (29:17) Two Lifetime Achievement Awards and Still Going
On what achievement really means when you are nowhere close to done.
🏡 (30:52) What ArtAdda Has Become
From a studio collective to a home at Museo Camera, & where the community is headed.
⏳ (33:32) Three Decades
Two Worlds Reflecting on what thirty years of parallel lives have taught her about creativity, leadership, & herself.
✨ (36:22) The Reveal
The first thing that comes to mind. No wrong answers.
📲 Follow the AboutHer WhatsApp channel
YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
Website
For any other queries, you could email us at web.abouther@gmail.com.
Disclaimer:
Guest views are their own. We don't endorse or take responsibility for their opinions on our podcasts and platforms