What began as a solution 19 years ago to stay at home with her newborn has now become one of the most successful art studios in the area. Coppell resident Nisha Shah’s passion for art has been with her since the young age of 6, when she started to take art classes as a hobby.

To this day, she strives to use art as a way to educate and help the people around her through Falak Art Studio and her nonprofit, Paint a Hope.

What prompted you to start Falak Art Studio?

Back [in Mumbai], I used to teach fashion design in colleges. When I came here, I had a baby who was just 1-year-old. To make sure that I can be with her and not have to go out and work, I thought of something I could do from home, and that was when I started [Falak Arts]. 

What is unique about Falak Arts?

We are the only curriculum-based art studio in all of DFW. We encourage a lot of our students to do contests, so they are always winning awards. That gives [our students] confidence and also builds their resume for colleges.

How has your passion for art created such a successful business?

When I am teaching here, this is not a business or a job for me. This is something where I am trying to build a future for these kids. I feel like if you are a teacher and you are looking at the commercial part of it, you should not be in this field. The teacher should not be only thinking about growing the business, it should be about wanting to grow the students. Art has definitely helped me be financially independent but I never feel like I am at work when I am here and that is something that almost no career can give you. 

What are your hopes for Falak Art Studio in the future?

My goal is to help as many kids and adults as possible, because art also helps with mental health. It is something that I strongly believe in. I want to help the underprivileged kids who cannot afford art education; we want to give them the education for free. We want to make sure that we can help the community through the medium of art. 

Do you offer volunteer options for your students? 

That’s the reason that Paint A Hope was started. My daughter helped me start that because she was really passionate about doing something for the community. What we do is we have students go to hospitals or senior homes and do workshops there. In summer, we had a thing where we had special needs kids come here and they had one-on-one instruction from us. 

What is the main message that you want your students to take away from their time at the studio? 

What I feel is that when you are young, you don’t really know what you are doing. You start [pursuing] a hobby. Then your hobby can convert into your passion and your passion can become your whole career. When your passion becomes your career, you will never fail. Many people are worried since the art field is not mainstream; they feel as if there are not enough opportunities or they feel as though [artists] are not paid well enough. But if you are passionate about anything and you take it up as a career, trust me, there is no looking back.

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