Intersections: Art, Design and Architecture

Sarah Sham is the founder of Essajees Atelier and a director at Essajees. She completed her undergraduate degree in Art History from Duke University and Oxford University where she graduated in the top 10% of her class. She returned to work for six years at her fourth-generation family business Essajees, which supplies fine furniture and antiques to large hotels and homes around the world. Clients she worked with include the Taj group of hotels, GVK and the Reliance group. After discovering her love for interior design, she completed her two-year degree in interior design from Rachna Sansad where she graduated at the top of her class. She then founded Essajees Atelier, which has since completed several residential and commercial projects. Sarah has also spent time learning the finer details of interior design in Los Angeles at Erika Brunson Couture Living and worked as an art consultant for private collectors through the gallery Lansdowne House. Currently, Sarah splits her time between interior design, antique collecting and furniture production.

Shonan Purie Trehan is the founder and a principal architect at Language.Architecture.Body. After completing her Bachelor of Architecture, from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in USA, she worked at Eisenmen Architects in New York City. She went on to work on various institutional and cultural projects at Le Groupe Arcop, Montreal and Arcop Associates, New Delhi. In 2008, she completed her Masters in Architecture from the Bartlett School of Built Environment, London, UK, with a focus in Advanced Architectural Design.In 2010, Shonan established Language.Architecture.Body in Bombay as a design studio that focuses on construction of relationships between narrative, environment and habitation. The practice has been working with great momentum over the last 6 years. The team of 18 architects have built over 57 residential, commercial, healthcare and hospitality projects across India and Africa. The work ranges from the planning of a 1600 bed hospital, Medanta The Medicity to the interiors of Ministry of New. LAB’s work has been widely published and awarded a spot on the AD50 list of 2015. For three years, Shonan was a visiting faculty member for the Bachelor of Architecture program at KRVIA. She has also presented at IDF, DesignxDesign 30under35, Studio X and close encounters.

Shahid Datawala (b 1974) has photographed extensively for various publications. His solo exhibitions include I once was alive, Gallery 7, Mumbai, 2015 Where the city rests, Matthieu Foss Gallery, Mumbai, 2010. Shadow Boxing, Tasveer in Bangalore, Calcutta and New Delhi, 2008-2009; Dress Circle, Tasveer in Bangalore, Calcutta, Mumbai, New Delhi, 2007-2008; A Walk with Pillars, Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, 2001. Datawala has also partaken of the group shows Post Visual World Curated by Gitanjali Dang, Priyashri Art gallery, Mumbai 2008; Caturday is Cleaning Day curated by Gitanjali Dang, The Loft, 2009; India: Public Places, Private Spaces curated by Gayatri Sinha and Paul Sternberger, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota, 2008 and The Newark Museum, New Jersey, 2007; Click curated by Radhika Singh and Sunil Gupta, Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi and Grosvenor, London, 2008; By George curated by Gitanjali Dang, Alliance Franciase, New Delhi, 2010; Where Three Dreams Cross, curated by Sunil Gupta and Radhika Singh, White Chapel Gallery, London,2010. He was also the chief designer for Pallate for 7 years, a furniture design store in Mumbai. He was awarded the Edida Furniture Category Award in 2009 and the Edida Designer of the Year by Elle Décor in 2010. Currently he is working on his next solo exhibition and a series of photography book projects on various aspect of Mumbai. He also designs clothes and is a jewellery maker. Datawala lives and works in Mumbai.