The Daily Bulletin Archive

Bhakti Sharma, chair and associate professor of interior design, will present "I Collect Boarding Passes: Ten Trips, Ten Lessons" today, April 14, at 12:15 p.m. in Upton Hall 230. (Please note the date change from previously printed materials.) This is the last lecture in this academic year’s Artists on the Road: Travel As a Source of Inspiration series and is free and open to the public.

Sharma grew up in Northern India. After receiving her bachelor's of architecture from Punjab Technical University, she went on to earn a master of science in design from Arizona State University. The first time she got on an airplane was when she traveled to Arizona to attend Arizona State. Before that, she had traveled extensively in India. Now, she has added Sri Lanka, Spain, Portugal, China, Japan, and North America to her list, but “Lisbon is where my heart is," she says.

Asked how travel has affected her life, she says: "Travel has given me new eyes to appreciate the world, to learn more, and to grow each day. Art and travel go hand in hand. I see art through the lens of travel. I love white walls, but there is a wall in my house that has one special artifact (mostly masks) that is dedicated to a moment in time in my travels. I see things differently than most people, and so can you if you travel and open your eyes."

And yes, some boarding passes will be included in her slideshow.

Sharma's research is centered on corporate branding, experiential factors, high-end retail, and flagship stores. She serves as president of the Buffalo Architecture Foundation and as vice president and emerging professionals chair of the Buffalo section of the Illuminating Engineering Society. Her most recent research resulted in a chapter in the book Reframing Quality Assurance in Creative Disciplines: From Evidence to Practice (Common Ground, 2015).

The Artists on the Road series is co-sponsored by the Design Department and the International and Exchange Programs Office. For more information on the series, please contact Carol Townsend, associate professor of design, 878-4986.