Heritage Goes Pop: Design and Culture in Contemporary Times

ROOSHAD SHROFF is a multi-disciplinary design and research studio founded in July 2011 in Mumbai, India. While the practice remains dedicated to the realization of interiors and buildings, the studio also operates in areas beyond the traditional boundaries of architecture including furniture, product, fashion, publishing and graphic design. Born in Mumbai- India, Rooshad Shroff received his undergraduate degree in Architecture at Cornell University where he was awarded the Edward Palmer York Memorial Prize for Outstanding performance in Design, as well as the Michael Rapuano Memorial Distinction in Design Award. His graduating thesis was later exhibited as part of the Emerging Talents, Emerging Technologies Exhibit at the Beijing Architecture Biennial in 2006. Whilst pursuing his Masters in Architecture at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, Rooshad served as a Teaching Assistant to renowned Spanish architect Inaki Abalos. His work produced at the GSD has been exhibited at the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennial as well as the 2010 Shanghai Expo within the Spanish Pavilion. In-between time spent in academia, Rooshad has worked at the offices of internationally acclaimed architects such as Zaha Hadid Architects in London where he was part of the design team working on numerous projects such as the Dubai Opera House, a seven tower residential complex at Farrer Court- Singapore and the Zoerkler Tower in Vienna, Austria, and at the office of OMA/REX in NYC working on the prestigious Dee and Charles Wyly Performing Arts Center in Dallas, Texas. ROOSHAD SHROFF, as a practice, celebrates the Indian artisan, the revival of the crafts of the hand-made, having custom made installations for international names such as Hermes and Christian Louboutin. The practice prides itself on its tailored RnD for each assignment, a customization in both materiality and technique.

Giorgio Galleani is an Italian Architect and Ph.D in Interior and exhibitions design. He works for the Triennale Design Museum in Milan as a collaborator to the realization both of temporary exhibitions as well as various editions of the museum. He is also responsible for the museum’s permanent collections of Italian Design and the Italian Design archives. Previously, he worked for several years as a lecturer and researcher in architectural design at the Milan Polytechnic. He has been a guest speaker at several universities and design conferences in and outside Italy.

Dr. Alka Pande is Consultant Arts Advisor and Curator, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. She holds a Post-Doctoral degree in Critical Art Theory from Goldsmiths College, under the aegis of the Charles Wallace India Trust Award, apart from an MA and PhD in History of Art from Punjab University, and an MA in History from Mumbai University. A recipient of the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres – Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters – from the French Government, she has authored several significant books on art and art history, among which Ardhanarishvara the Androgyne, Masterpieces of Indian Art, Indian Erotica, From Mustard Fields to Disco Lights and Shringara: The Many Faces of Indian Beauty. Dr. Pande has also curated some landmark exhibitions in India and abroad. Of especial note in 2015 was the exhibition entitled Kama Sutra: Spirituality and Eroticism in Indian Art at the Pinacothèque in Paris. She is the guest curator of the Sculpture Gallery at the City Palace Museum, Udaipur. She is also the artistic director of the India Habitat Centre’s Photosphere, an interface between art and sustainability. She serves as the curator for the Kanha Museum of Life and Arts.

"Alok Nanda is the founder and CEO of Alok Nanda & Company communications Pvt. Ltd. – a creative brand consultancy. As a multidisciplinary workspace, ANC moves seamlessly between advertising and strategic design including corporate identities, investigating corporate cultures, retail design, graphics and packaging to transform client businesses. In existence for 15 year now, ANC has crafted identities for IDFC Bank, Quikr and Eurokids, created campaigns for Lodha, Marico, Google and Taj Hotels properties in Mauritius, Maldives, the US and South Africa. And retail design and packaging for Sula Wines, PVR and Kaya Skin clinics. Recently, for Unilever, they took the Taj Mahal Tea brand into its first experience zone with The Taj Mahal Tea House. ANC also runs a design shop – Filter, in Kala Ghoda. The store is a creative lab for designers and writers, showcasing original, quirky products and content. Prior to ANC, Alok was the National Creative Director of Grey Advertising, India and a member of the Grey Asia Pacific Creative Board.