Avani Rao Gandra has a PhD (Contemporary Andhra Painting) from Osmania University. She worked as an art critic for Indian Express and contributed articles to magazines like Marg, Art India, Art Deal, and Indian Art Journal. Founder of ICONART (Contemporary Art Gallery), she conducted nearly 70 art shows and workshops, and curated 27 art shows related to painting, printmaking, sculpture, new media, photography, and installations. As an artist and photographer, she participated in several solo and group shows. She was the recipient of the Arts Think South Asia Fellowship (2014-2015) sponsored by German Goethe Centre and British Council.

Speaker @ HLF 2023, 2017