IIAD’s First Graduate Show!

Indian Institute of Art and Design recently organised the Graduate Show of its founding batch in collaboration with Kingston University, London. The event showcased their work in an innovative 2 days exhibition held at the IIAD Campus in South Delhi on 31st May and 1st June 2019. The studio spaces were transformed into large exhibition spaces where visitors viewed the multi-disciplinary creative talent of the students. As the first graduating batch of IIAD, the class of 2019 will always hold a special place in the hearts and minds of the Faculty, Staff and Students at IIAD.

The first day of the Graduate Show commenced with lamp lighting by the Chairpersons - Ms. Rita Singh and Mr. Ajit Chadha, Director - Dr. Jitin Chadha, Deans and the Department Heads. The Graduate Show Exhibition featured the works of IIAD graduates from the three disciplines - Interior Architecture & Design, Communication Design and Fashion Design. It reflected the rigour of the course and the creativity put in by the students and their faculty during the 4 intensive years at IIAD.

The inspiring speech of the Chief Guest Dr. Shashi Tharoor , Member of Parliament, was a kickstarter for an evening filled with excitement, joy and pride. Watch Dr. Tharoor’s address in this video. The show was also graced by the presence of other eminent dignitaries including Mr. Sunil Sethi - President FDCI and Advisory Board Member, Ms. Laila Tyabji - Founder, Dastkar, Ms Leena Singh, Advisory Board Member and Fashion Designer,  Ms. Sunita Kohli - renowned Interior Designer and Architectural Restorer, Professor I.M Chishti - renowned Architect and Educator and Mr. Manish Vashist - Design Director, UX Group Manager - IBM India to name a few. The hard work and creativity expressed by all the students was greatly appreciated by the visiting dignitaries.

The first day concluded with a Fashion Show put up by the final year students of Fashion Design Department which showcased various socially relevant themes like A surreal vyoo , A crisp symphony , Error 404, Haisiyat, A thoughtful doodle to name a few. The young budding designers received accolades for their hard work and creative themes for the Fashion Show.

The Fashion Design Students were awarded prizes by Mr. Sunil Sethi (President of FDCI) for the following :

• Best Technically Executed Award -Visheshta Sharma and Faizan Khan
• Most Creative Collection Award - Mahima Sharma and Dakshita Jain
• Special Jury Award - Aditi Ghosh

The Interior Architecture & Design Students were awarded prizes by Professor I.M Chishti, renowned Architect & Educator, for the following:

• Best Design Project - Tanya Agarwal
• Professional Excellence -Simran Bhatia
• Most Innovative Project - Himanshi Dadhich

The Communication Design Students were awarded prizes by Mr. Manish Vashist, Design Director, Design Thinking Leader, Mentor at IBM, for the following :

• Best Design Project - Chaitanya Bhatti
• Most Socially Relevant Project - Meha Sharma
• Professional Excellence - Aakriti Jain

Dr. Jitin Chadha, Director of IIAD said "I am filled with immense joy and pride today. The hard work and resilience of both the students and faculty were evident during the Graduate Show. I am delighted and look forward to seeing them prosper as professionals now!”

The second day of the Graduate Show witnessed the IIAD campus bustling with professionals across all the creative genres.  The Parents of the graduating batch , who were also present.  These proud parents were happy and excited to see their ward transform from a Fresher to a Design Professional in their four years at IIAD. Hundreds of visitors explored the work of the students from the three disciplines - Interior Architecture & Design, Communication Design and Fashion Design. They immersed themselves in the creative world and were intrigued and amazed listening to the students’ journey of design discovery.

Some of the dignitaries who graced the event included:

• Mr. Tarun Tahiliani - Renowned Fashion Designer
• Chandrashekhar Bheda, Principal Designer of Spider Design
• Arini and Medha Soni, Founder and CEO of I, Arini
• Lipika Sud, Interior Designer
• Ms. Sarada Muraleedharan, Director General - NIFT
• Parag Anand, HOD of Industrial Design at SPA, Delhi
• Col. Anuj Shrivastava, Architect
• Amit and Monika Gulati, Founders of Incubis
• Shiny Varghese, Leading Columnist at Indian Express
• Ms. Ritu Sethi for Delhi Crafts Council
• Rajen Baraya, Architect and Senior Consultant to DUAC
• Indrani De Parker, Designer and Faculty at IIIT
• Navneet and Ritu Malhotra, Founders of Renomania
• Amit Sharma, Founder of Axiom
• Sanjeeb Chatterjee, Founder of Kaaru
• Navin Piplani, Director at Intach Heritage Academy
• Aditi Singh, Associate Professor, Industrial Design at SPA, Delhi
• Dr. Sraboni Bhaduri, Head of Brand & Consumer Insights at Future Brands
• Sunil Vashisth, Sr. Vice President of Strategy at Future Brands
• Pavan Jambagi, Entrepreneur and Founder at Carnatic Cafe
• Mr. Nidhip Mehta - Dean - School of Design, Pearl Academy
• Mr. Aneeth Arora - Pero, Hemant
• Mr. Nandita Lalwani - label Hemant and Nandita
• Shani Himanshu – 11.11/eleven eleven
• Varun Rana for Varun Rana
• …. Any many others

The Graduate Show celebrated the hard work, perseverance, and talent of IIAD's budding designers. And it definitely fulfilled the Institute’s ideology of design thinking, dynamism, aesthetics and competitive spirit. As the graduating students embark on their new journey, the entire IIAD family wishes them good luck, heart-warming love, immense prosperity and success.

For more updates on the Graduate Show, check out our official social media channels on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter