Odia Girl Who Wowed The World With Her Art Gets UAE’s Golden Visa

Odia Girl Who Wowed The World With Her Art Gets UAE’s Golden Visa

Odia girl Mona Biswarupa Mohanty has wowed the world with her art and has won many hearts over the years. She received the UAE’s much coveted ‘Golden Visa’ which is a long term residence visa for 10 years. This is a special visa that is granted to people in the field of arts, creative industries, literature and culture, heritage history and cognitive studies.

Mona’s has been a resident of the UAE since 2007. She had applied for the Golden Visa when a senior artist advised her to do so. Her application was promptly accepted and now she and her three member family can live in the Emirate Kingdom for the next decade.

Mona feels honoured to have received the Golden Visa. This means a lot to her. She feels that if one follows their heart and puts their heart and soul into something then it will eventually be rewarded in more ways than one can imagine. Receiving the Golden Visa has strengthened her belief in herself and it motivates her to put in more effort to her art.

This visa helps foreigners to live, work and study in the fastest growing cultural capital of the world without the need of a national sponsor and with 100 per cent ownership of their business on the UAE’s mainland.

Mona is a fashion designer and she went to Dubai in 2007 as a lecturer working at the Manipal University. For eight years she worked in the fashion industry and designed abayas. In 2015 she decided to quit her job and pursue her passion which is painting. She was inspired by the inclusive and tolerant society of Dubai, the vibrant and blossoming cultural environment and art scene there which rekindled her love for fine arts and made her realise that art is her true calling.

Mona’s creative consciousness took shape during her childhood as she soaked in the natural beauty and vibrant culture of Odisha. Her father is a poet and lyricist. His simple writing style inspired her a lot. She drew inspiration from her roots and also the culture of all the places she has lived in. Nature, femininity and folk culture inspires her.

She feels that the vibrant cosmopolitan culture of UAE has taught her that one can be progressive while still being connected to the roots. In fact, the deeper the connections with one’s roots, the higher you can soar. One’s culture is one’s identity and when our cultures come together we form the global culture which is like a vibrant patchwork.

Mona is an artist registered with the Dubai Economic Department. She has a diploma in fine arts from the School of Art and Crafts, Baripada.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated the artist via a tweet and wrote that it is a remarkable achievement that will inspire others to excel in various fields throughout the world.