Painting Outside the Lines, with Sujata Tibrewala

Sujata Tibrewala's life is a shining example of the transformative power of pursuing one's authentic path. In our discussion, she shares her courageous journey, from defying societal norms to becoming the first-generation engineer in her family and finding her authentic voice through art and community. Through it all, Sujata is guided by an unbreakable will to find her own corners in our world.
 
Born into a conservative Rajasthani family, Sujata was expected to conform to the role of a dutiful wife and mother. However, her thirst for knowledge and the support of her teachers gave her the confidence she needed to rebel against societal norms and become the first engineer in her family.
 
Sujata's path was not an easy one. She had to carve out physical and mental spaces, finding a quiet corner in her grandmother's puja room to study. Later, amidst the turmoil of a turbulent marriage and health challenges, she discovered solace in artistic expression. Through her paintings and the Pratibimba art platform she founded, she gave voice to her emotions, connecting with others on a profound level.
 
Sujata's exploration of quantum mechanics and Eastern philosophies birthed the "Quantum Connection" series, a body of work that celebrates the interconnectedness of all things. Her art transcends boundaries, reminding us that at our core, we are all waves of energy, inextricably linked.
 
In the world of technology, Sujata found her calling as a community builder, seamlessly blending her technical prowess with her gift for human connection. Her role in the open source community became an extension of her artistic journey, fostering collaboration and empowering others to find their voice.
 
Throughout our conversation, Sujata's resilience, authenticity, and courage shine through. Her story is a powerful reminder that our paths are not predetermined – they are forged by the courage to listen to our inner voices and the audacity to chart our own course.

Show notes:
01:19 Introduction and Personal Philosophy
01:49 Meet Sujata Tibrewala
04:53 Early Life and Education
09:59 Challenges and Triumphs in Marriage
11:06 Health Struggles and Artistic Expression
14:52 Founding Pratibimba
18:57 Quantum Connection Paintings
26:05 Advice
28:52 Final Thoughts

Guest bio:
As a community development manager and technology evangelist, Sujata Tibrewala has led product go-to-market campaigns and developer messaging, and has grown developer communities from 0 to thousands worldwide. She has also established flagship community-based developer events, working with the ecosystem to drive adoption in open source projects related to networking, edge and accelerated computing.

Today, Sujata spearheads the cross-functional, cross-organizational contributions of Byte Dance, ensuring its consistent, positive presence across 50+ open source projects. Prior to Byte Dance, she has led all phases of diverse software technology projects in the areas of networking, cloud and virtualization technologies across companies including Agere, Avaya, Brocade, CISCO, Ericsson and Intel.

Sujata is a frequent presenter at various IEEE and industry conferences in areas related to networking, and has held positions of Director at Silicon Valley Engineering Council and TSC chair for Documentation Sub-committee for the Akraino project. She has a Masters from IISc Bangalore and Bachelors from IIT Kharagpur and has completed an Executive Women Leadership Program from Stanford.

An award-winning self-taught artist, Sujata has been exhibiting her art at various prestigious venues around the world since 2008. She uses her quest of knowledge to research the subjects close to her heart and expresses them through her piercing paintings. She has had successful solos at venues including University of Illinois, Chicago, Lalit Kalal Academy, New Delhi, and Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur. Sujata has also served as docent and adult art education advisor at Brooks’s Museum, and her paintings have been published in cover pages of "Broad: A social and feminine justice magazine".

Learn more about Sujata’s work and connect with her:
Website
LinkedIn
Instagram