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Columbia is full of devoted artists who draw inspiration from its charm and character for their artworks. Inspiration is everywhere, nestled between the brick and mortar of the small businesses that make our home city grow. For award-winning Iranian-American artist and University of South Carolina design professor Meena Khalili, Columbia and its small businesses serve as one of her many muses. Design has a story to tell—and so does Meena, our Fig Authentic spotlight.
You may know Meena from her daily drawings, a project she started five years ago with a pocket sketchbook, a pen, and a vision to bring the stories of Columbia to life on the page. After six moves in the span of four years, Meena craved a sense of belonging in her new surroundings.
She spoke with her partner, Brent, about how she could make the unfamiliar feel a bit more like home.
“What if I did a drawing of a place here everyday…so I would know one place?” she asked.
“Every city loves to be complimented,” said Brent.
In that moment, her plan became clear: to draw a place in Columbia every day and help its citizens, new and existing, weave renewed threads of affection for their town.
Since then, Meena has found even more ways to showcase Columbia, with a special focus on its local establishments. In 2021, she began a multimedia project highlighting how six determined shop owners sustained their businesses during COVID-19.
She transformed her recordings and sketches into augmented reality postcards, placing them outside storefronts where people could listen and learn about
each business.
“My work is about the human experience, and it is about my experience,” said Meena. “My goal is always to take what has been personal to me and make it something that other people can understand and to start a conversation.”
Her journey to Columbia was entirely unexpected. During the move with her partner and infant daughter, their moving truck crashed, scattering their destroyed belongings along the interstate. When their new neighbors heard about what happened, they all came together, bringing groceries, bedding, and even a crib to help the young family settle in.
“We just got here, and the community was already there for us…it was wild to experience that,” said Meena.
That community has proven strong in the ensuing years. Now, Meena and Brent watch their daughter grow up alongside the children of those same neighbors who first came to their aid.
From class lectures to her daily drawings, Meena is rekindling the curiosity of Soda City’s residents, encouraging them to discover new ways to love the city.
Columbia has been the canvas for her illustrations these past years, and this artist shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Want more of Meena? Check out her digital portfolio at meenakhalili.com
