2020 OSCLG Creative Expression Award

Pavithra Prasad is a Los Angeles-based writer, scholar, and performer working at the intersection of textual narrative and performance art. Born and raised in Chennai in South India, her aesthetic engages decolonial forms of story-telling, music composition, and language praxis. Her mixed-method research and performances prioritize deep play as political practice. Spanning genres from cabaret and burlesque to music historiography and performance ethnography, she creates work on South Asian futurism and global anti-racist and anti-caste coalition. Pavi’s works as a performer, playwright and director aim to translate critical theory into performance and connect scholarship with communities beyond the academy. She holds a PhD in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, and teaches at California State University, Northridge.