Lado Bai (b. 1964; Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh) is an artist working within the Bhil painting tradition. Her practice emerged through the cultural environment of Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, where she was encouraged by artist and curator J Swaminathan to translate the visual traditions of her community into new artistic forms.

Rooted in Bhil cosmology, folklore, seasonal festivals and the community’s relationship with the natural world, Lado Bai’s paintings bring together ancestral memory and contemporary expression. Through her distinctive use of colour, pattern and narrative composition, she expands the possibilities of Bhil painting while remaining connected to the stories, symbols and knowledge systems embedded within the tradition.

Over a career spanning more than three decades, Lado Bai has presented her work in exhibitions across India and internationally. Her solo exhibitions include Paper Whispers (Ojas Art, New Delhi, 2025) and The Early Years (Ojas Art, New Delhi, 2023). Selected group exhibitions include The Conference of the Birds (British Council, The Yuva Foundation and Ojas Art, 2021–22), Phoenix: New Artists, New Works (Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, 2021) and Fables of the Earth: Celebrating Indian Indigenous Art (Ojas Art, 2020). She has also participated in India Art Fair (2024, 2025) and Art Mumbai (2024), alongside exhibitions organised by Bharat Bhavan and other cultural institutions.

Her works are held in significant public and private collections, including Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal; the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal; the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi; the National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, New Delhi; the Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA; the KADIST Collection, USA; Saffronart, Mumbai; and Sutra Gallery, Wisconsin, USA.

Lado Bai has received several honours for her contribution to Bhil art, including the Madhya Pradesh Shikhar Samman (2019), Tulsidas Samman (2018), Grand Award at the Bharat Bhavan Biennial (2018), Prafulla Dahanukar Platinum Award (2017), and the Ojas Art Master Artist Award for Bhil Art (2017). Her work has been featured in publications including Many Indias (2016), and the monograph Satrangi: The Art of the Bheel (Ojas Art, 2017) is dedicated to her practice. Through her paintings, Lado Bai continues to shape the evolving language of contemporary Bhil art, carrying forward the visual memory of her community while exploring new forms of expression.