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Model, actor, and tech founder Lisa Ray talks about her move to Dubai and her digital art platform focusing on NFTs

by Prerna

February 11, 2023 1

If you thought you had to be a millennial to be a multi-hyphenate, then you have not met Lisa Ray. The 50-year-old is considered to be one of India’s first supermodels and has worked in films and television as an actor in both the West and the East, with her role as young widow Kalyan in Deepa Mehta’s 2005 film, Water, being one of her career-high points), anchored television shows (again in both the Global North as host of Top Chef Canada and Global South working on shows for TLC), authored a critically acclaimed book, is a wellness advocate, and a keen art collector — not to mention a mother of twins (four-year-old daughters), a wife (she is married to Jason Dehni, a fin-tech entrepreneur), a daughter (her father turns 90 this year) and lives with her at the Dehni-Ray residence in Dubai’s Arabian Ranches). Then there is also her cat, Pluto.
She now adds co-founder to her resume. A curator-led arts digital platform, The Upside Space recently went live, and right now is the focus of Lisa’s workday. Throughout her career, Lisa has spoken about the need for creative industries to be more inclusive and now she looks to shine a spotlight on artistic talents from the Middle East and Southeast and South Asia powered by new-age tech in the form of NFTs. A pioneering system for art, her co-founder is Singapore-based art patron Ayesha Khan. Collaborating with curators such as Bhutan’s Kelly Dorji, Pakistan’s Omer Nabi, and Bali-based Bandana Tewari, they hope to give global visibility to regional artists, while also demystifying the metaverse to the average consumer.
Originally of Bengali-Polish origins, Lisa was born in Canada and has since lived in Mumbai, London, Milan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and now Dubai. A self-confessed nomad, she believes Dubai will be her home for a while. She is an active member of the cultural community in Dubai. The Upside Space will also be part of Art Dubai in March in the digital galleries section.
She recently participated in the Emirates Literature Festival for a session focusing on her 2019 debut book, Close to the Bone, a memoir that looks at her journey. Behind the scenes, there have been many difficult moments in this 50-year-old’s life. From moving to Mumbai when she was a teenager, after a car accident that left her mom paralyzed, to her own multiple myeloma diagnosis in 2009, this book reminds us that life is a precious gift to be celebrated.
I first met her almost 30 years ago, as Lisa was about to make her music video debut in Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s, Afreen, in the mid-1990s. I invited Lisa to write a piece for the newspaper for which I was then working. She had already gained a reputation for being a wordsmith, (funnily enough it was about how to start an art collection). Yes, she has had to overcome obstacles, but she turns each one into a life lesson. She has today designed a life that gives her purpose professionally and personally, while she continues to push the boundaries of creativity.