Ela Mukherjee completed her post graduation in English from Calcutta University. She started working in clay under the guidance of Prasanta Mukherjee, an artist and a Fulbrighter.

She started exhibiting her works professionally from 2000. She was awarded a Junior Fellowship by MHRD, Government of India. In 2005 she received a Fulbright scholarship to go to the USA as a research scholar in ceramics and following that, to the UK with Charles Wallace grant.

She has exhibited her works in India and abroad and had been part of national and international residencies. She lives in Delhi where she has her studio and teaches in different art and design colleges as a visiting faculty and coordinates ceramic workshops