Art saved Sujata Tibrewala’s life. Seven years ago the Milpitas artist was in so much pain that she could no longer work or take care of herself. She spiraled into depression.
Her doctor suggested she do something that would bring her joy, so she started painting. At first she could only hold a brush for a minute at a time and then had to lay it down until she could paint again. It took her months to finish one painting, but the act of expressing her sadness, sorrow and anger was therapeutic.
Eventually her painting became her motivation to heal herself. She took better care of herself and eventually was able to function again. She was able to return to work and has now run five full marathons.
Tibrewala has gone on to exhibit her artwork professionally at local and international venues. She continues to paint and also teaches art workshops. In 2025, she was a guest lecturer at Santa Clara University, teaching on Indian art’s global influence, and led her signature Mandala Reinvented for Mental Wellbeing workshops at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, Triton Museum, and other venues.
Tibrewala is among the more than 370 visual artists participating in Open Studios’ 40th anniversary next month, when artists working in a wide variety of media will invite the public to visit them at more than 100 studios and galleries from South San Francisco to San Jose and Pacifica to Half Moon Bay.
SVOS 2026 starts this weekend, when workspaces along the coast and the Northern Peninsula will be featured. The weekend of May 9-10 highlights Midpeninsula artists. Tibrewala will be showing her artwork at 3858 Timlott Court in Palo Alto on May 16-17, when South Bay artists will be front and center.
Studios are open on Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. To see an interactive map of the exhibit locations, view a gallery of all the participating artists and learn about their work, visit https://svos.org.