Curriculum Vitae Ruchika Nambiar Book Artist, Designer, Writer, Educator | Instagram • YouTube • LinkedIn | |
Summary • Ruchika Nambiar is a book artist, designer and writer who produces experimental, interactive books and stories. While her methods are interdisciplinary, she treats the book as her container, using it to combine her various practices of image-making, miniature art, writing, research and graphic design. She is an alum of RISD (2023) and Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology (2014). She is the creator of The Dollhouse Project (2017-present) that has been featured by Architectural Digest, India Today, and more. Her artist books have been acquired by The Clark Art Institute (MA) and Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (WA). Her 2D/3D graphic memoir Notes to Self (2026) was awarded a RISCA Make Art Grant. Also a researcher, she writes on themes of cultural philosophy and media studies, and has written and produced a new interactive book, Memes for the Soul (2024). She works on experimental art commissions, with brand collaborations like Samsung and limited edition publications produced for clients such as the City of Providence. She delivers talks – such as at TEDxRISD and MAD Museum NYC – and runs a mentorship programme called The Creative Finishing School for young artists and designers. She currently also teaches at RISD under the Department of Illustration. | ||
Teaching
Rhode Island School of Design Critic in the Department of Illustration | Art for Children: Beyond the Book • View Department of Illustration | Spring 2024 |
Global Modernisms • 2 Sections • View Department of Theory & History of Art & Design | Fall 2024 | |
Visual Strategies • View | Spring 2025 | |
Typography for Illustrators • View | Spring 2025 | |
Publishing the Thesis (MFA Illustration) • View | Spring 2025 | |
Design for Illustrators: Workshop Suite | Spring 2026 | |
Miniature Studio: Storytelling in Scale | Fall 2026 |
Work Experience
Ongoing 2015 onwards | Independent Creative Practice My practice is interdisciplinary and spans across miniature art, book art, publication design and writing. I work on commissions as well as independent projects, seeking out opportunities for experimental storytelling. Please refer to my website to see projects. Founder, The Creative Finishing School Independent Contract Roles
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Oct 2016 - Oct 2019 | Harman International • Bangalore, India Senior Interaction Designer Working in the Strategy & Solutions team of Harman’s in-house global design agency. |
Jan 2015 - Jan 2016 | Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology • Bangalore, India Research & Teaching Assistant Project Coordinator for ‘Art in Transit’ (AIT), a public art collective run by Srishti Institute in partnership with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL). |
Education
2022 - 2023 Graduate | Rhode Island School of Design • Providence, RI, USA MA in Global Arts & Cultures (Division of Liberal Arts) with a RISD Fellowship Thesis: Memes for the Soul: The Internet and its Phantasmic Global Citizen Advisor: Dr. Ijlal Muzaffar |
2010 - 2014 Undergraduate | Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology • Bangalore, India Major in Visual Communication Design Graduated with special commendation for capstone project International Masterclass, Denmark, Oct-Nov 2013 Attended the International Designcamp 2013 hosted by Kolding School of Design, Denmark on behalf of my institution. Read more |
1998 - 2010 K-12 | National Public School, Indiranagar • Bangalore, India |
Speaking
Jun 2026 | Talk at Museum of Arts & Design NYC, hosted by AIGA-NY. “Methods & Madness: Life as an Experimental Book Designer” | |
Mar 2023 | Speaker at TEDxRISD, “How Not to Grow Up” | |
Sep 2026 | Guest Lecture • University of New Haven, Department of Art & Design | |
Sep 2026 | Guest Lecture + Workshop • Bryant University, Smithfield RI | |
Apr 2026 | Thesis Homestretch Workshop • Guest seminar hosted by Center for Arts & Language, RISD and the Graduate Studies department | |
Sep 2025 | Creative Documentation • Guest Lecture & Workshop at Brown University, Visual Art Department, Junior Seminar | |
May 2025 | Experiments in Creative Research • Talk + Workshop at RISD, supported by the RISD Research SPUR Fund | |
Sep 2024 | Flash Talk at the AIR 2024 Showcase organized by RISD research, presenting my book Memes for the Soul | |
Aug 2024 | Author Talk at Symposium Books, Providence RI, presenting my book Memes for the Soul and other books (Home vs Home, Wabi-Sabi, The Breadcrumb) | |
Jul 2024 | Artist Talk at Artisans’ Asylum: Speaker Series, Boston MA | |
Dec 2023 | Research presentation at RISD Global Arts & Cultures Thesis Symposium ‘23, presenting Memes for the Soul | |
Nov 2023 | Guest Talk at Rhode Island Handicraft Club, about my miniature practice | |
Mar 2022 | Guest Talk to PhD students at Jindal School of Art & Architecture (Jindal Global University), “Experiments with Creative Research” | |
Oct 2021 | 3-Day Artist Talk at Academy of Applied Arts, about The Dollhouse Project | |
Oct 2021 | Seminar hosted by ADPList, “Storytelling to Make a Better Pitch” | |
Sep 2021 | Artist Talk to Prabha Khaitan Foundation, about The Dollhouse Project | |
Jul 2021 | Guest seminar at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology |
Acquisitions
2025 • Record Withheld limited edition artist book (2025) acquired by The Clark Art Institute (Massachusetts), for their Artist Books Special Collections. See Library Record
2024 • Home vs Home limited edition artist book (2023) acquired by Cynthia Sears Artists’ Books Collection, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (Washington)
2024 • Home vs Home limited edition artist book (2023) acquired by The Clark Art Institute (Massachusetts), for their Artist Books Special Collections. See Library Record
Exhibitions
Forthcoming • 15th Annual Art of the Book & Paper International Exhibition, Anthony Mascioli Gallery, Rochester Public Library, New York, USA. (Artworks: Record Withheld, 2025; Home vs Home, 2023). On view Oct 5-Dec 31, 2026.
Forthcoming • The Book As Art v.14: Ghosted, sponsored by the Decatur Arts Alliance, the DeKalb Library Foundation and the Georgia Center for the Book. Decatur Library, Decatur, Georgia, USA. (Artwork: Record Withheld, 2025). On view Sep 11-Oct 24, 2026.
2026 • Word of Art Exhibition. d’Art Center, Norfolk, Virginia, USA. (Artwork: Record Withheld, 2025). On view Jul 18-Aug 15, 2026. See online catalogue.
2026 • Space is Weird, So Are We, CaFÉ Virtual Exhibition, sponsored by MUD Foundation. (Artwork: Home vs Home, 2023). See online catalogue.
Honors & Awards
2025 • Won the RISCA Make Art Grant of $5000 awarded by Rhode Island State Council of the Arts for my 2D/3D graphic memoir Notes to Self, 2025
2025 • Recognized as a finalist for the MacColl Johnson 2025 Fellowship for writers, awarded by the Rhode Island Foundation. Read the press release.
2024 • Won the SPUR Fund awarded by RISD Research for my project Memes for the Soul: Beyond the Book
2023 • Nominated for the AICAD Postgraduate Teaching Fellowship
2022-23 • RISD Merit-Based Graduate Fellowship – 50% Tuition Award
2014 • Special commendation award for undergraduate capstone project The Lilliput Proletariat, Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology
2013 • Selected to attend the International Designcamp 2013 “Design 2 Play” masterclass held by Kolding School of Design, Denmark on behalf of my home institution. Read about the masterclass
2007 • Certified Usability Analyst, Human Factors International. Read “The Youngest CUA” article
Publications / Conferences
2026 • Notes to Self • Graphic memoir, independently published
2024 • Memes for the Soul: The Internet and its Phantasmic Global Citizen
2020 • The Breadcrumb • Graphic memoir, independently published
2015 • “The Accessibility of Indian Concepts”, published in the Journal of Contemporary Thought #40. Read
2013 • “Perceptions of Feminism” presented at the Mediating Modernity conference (Bangalore, India) hosted by Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology and Swedish Malmo University.
Press & Media
Architectural Digest, Article featuring The Dollhouse Project, “A designer creates the most close-to-reality dollhouse for her alter ego”, Apr 2021 | ||
India Today, Article featuring The Travelling Home, “Small Size, Big Style”, printed in India Today HOME, Mar 2024 issue | ||
People of Print, Article featuring Record Withheld, “Hiding in Plain Sight: Ruchika Nambiar’s Record Withheld”, May 2026 | ||
India Today, Article featuring The Dollhouse Project, “A peek into Ruchika Nambiar's most close-to-reality dollhouse”, printed in India Today HOME, Feb 2022 issue | ||
Rhode Island Foundation, Press release article recognizing me as a finalist for the 2025 MacColl Johnson Fellowship for writers, Mar 2025 | ||
DesignIndia Magazine, Interviewed for print Issue No. 143, Jul 2022 | ||
Canvas Rebel, Interview, Nov 2025 | ||
New Indian Express, Interviewed about miniature practice for news article, Nov 2023 | ||
Branding in Asia, Article on Samsung Model Homes miniature collaboration, Aug 2022 | ||
Marg Magazine, The Dollhouse Project featured in print issue, Jun 2021 | ||
Design Pataki, Interviewed about miniature practice, Oct 2021 | ||
HomeGrown India, Article featuring The Dollhouse Project, “Inside The Dollhouse Project: An Artist's Miniature Comedy-Drama Storyverse”, Nov 2023 | ||
Shrunk Magazine, Article featuring The Dollhouse Project, print Issue No. 6, Nov 2022 | ||
World Architecture Community, Interviewed about The Dollhouse Project, Aug 2021 | ||
Voice of Fashion, Article featuring The Dollhouse Project, “Ruchika Nambiar’s Dollhouse Experiments”, Apr 2021 | ||
Audiogyan with Kedar Nimkar, Podcast interview, Ep.263, “Being interdisciplinary”, Jan 2023 | ||
Storytalking with Lakshya, Podcast interview, Ep.49, talking about my graphic novel The Breadcrumb, Dec 2018 | ||
Nambiar