Shailee Thakkar is a multimedia artist practicing in Boston, Massachusetts. Her work explores themes of order, chaos, and control. She sets rules for each project and then uses transparency, redaction, removal, and retention to edit them with each iteration over time. She is currently using materials such as charcoal, graphite, ink, and transparent post-it notes to explore this theme. Thakkar is currently a Graduate student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in the 2D Fine Arts program.

In 2024, Thakkar’s work was selected for a group exhibition at the People’s Gallery in city Hall in Austin, Texas. Most recently, an additional work of Thakkar’s was selected and sold at the 2025 MassArt Auction at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. 

Born and raised in Gujarat, India, Thakkar grew up in the bustling town of Anand and spent most of her childhood in her birthplace of Godhra. She grew up watching her family members make cards, knitwear, and dyed handkerchiefs. At the age of eight, she started taking art classes and participating in school and community art contests. Even after moving to the United States at the age of 12, Thakkar continued to practice art within her school. 

Thakkar has a B.A. in Biochemistry along with her teaching certificate from the University of Texas at Austin. After working as a High School science teacher for seven years, Thakkar stepped away from teaching and enrolled as a student at Austin Community College, where she earned her Associate’s degree in Studio Art and worked as a Gallery Assistant at The Art Galleries at ACC. As a student, several of Thakkar’s works were included in the campus-wide juried exhibitions and publications for the Creative Writing department. She also interned at ICOSA Collective and Slugfest Printmaking Studio and subsequently participated in their group exhibitions. Additionally, Thakkar worked as a Gallery Teacher at the Blanton Museum of Art.