Meet Priya Rama | Migraine artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Priya Rama and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Priya, what do you attribute your success to?
Taking that first step in making public my chronic pain experience was a courageous one. I can see that now when I look back on my journey. Because I couldn’t anticipate how it would be received, if at all. Making public a personal experience was never going to be easy: in doing so, I had opened myself to criticisms, disbelief and outright dismissals. However, what I didn’t expect was how well my story would be received!

I have since come to understand and appreciate why this is so…Pain is not only personal but very lonely as well! And when that pain is chronic, it takes a lot out of an individual, it is exhausting! The sharing of my story and art acknowledges this pain experience and offers other sufferers an option, a way out. Not to get rid of the pain (oh no, I am not offering a magic salve) but to use creativity as a way to accept its presence in one’s life. This shift in perspective changes how the body feels the pain!

So, my success is due to the fact that I am no longer quiet about my pain, openly share what I really experience during a migraine and my paintings offer an ‘inside out’ perspective of the migraine experience. This has struck a chord with a lot of people, offering hope and perhaps a way forward.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I paint the images I experience inside my head when a migraine comes on. If you searched for ‘migraine images’, what you’ll typically see is works by migraine sufferers that depict what their pain is like. What my work offers, which makes it unique, is the depiction of a migraine inside the head–the emergence of color, development of textures, distribution of light, and ability to travel within and get immersed in this migrainal space.

The wider public’s response to my paintings and migraine experience has been humbling, to say the least. I am glad I made the decision to publicly share my personal pain experience. I hear from people all over the country because my story has touched them–they tell me that for the first time, their pain feels acknowledged and they feel validated, that they are not imagining things, exaggerating or being dramatic, and that my story gives them hope. How wonderful is that?!

What really fascinates me is this–when I do art fairs/shows, I often meet people who are immediately drawn to one or two of my paintings, because they are similar to what they experience during their migraine! I mean, different bodies/minds experiencing something similar during a migraine! Wow!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take my friend to the local art museums or galleries and definitely any local art fairs happening at the time of the visit. To me, creative people are the most fun, in terms of how they absorb and respond to life!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My immediate family: they have been enormously patient and have never complained Mentors and teachers
Tribe of artist friends
Media and medical organizations that have thought my story is worth sharing
Museums and galleries
The book “Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us” by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross

Website: priyarama.com

Instagram: instagram.com/priyaramaart

Facebook: facebook.com/priyaramaart

Image Credits
PC: Priya Rama