About
She founded grassroots creative collective 'Culture Shock'; designing exhibitions and programming that creates cross-cultural discourse in the arts and culture industry. She won the Emerging Practice Award 2025 (awarded by CLIMAVORE x Jameel at RCA) for her work documenting sustainable and regenerative practices in her hometown Coorg, India.
Collaborations: BFI, BBC Television Center, Close Up Film Center, Manarat al Saadiyat, Jameel Arts Center, Sikka Art, Design Festival, and Dubai Design Festival, Apple, The Horniman Museum & Gardens, ATÖLYE, kyu House, West Zone Youth Center, The Univercity of Manchester, Jameel Arts Center, Sikka Art and Design Festival, Collectors Cottage, Sothebys, Al Mashtal Creative Incubator & House, Manarat al Saadiyat, Dubai Design Festival, Alserkal Avenue, Elmarsa gallery, West Zone Youth Center, and Masbro Centre London.
vedikakushalappa@gmail.com
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Education
Royal College of Art, London, UK
MA Information Experience Design
Parsons School of Design, New York, USA
BFA Integrated Design
Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, New York, USA
BA Economics
🏆 Awards & Nominations
2025: Emerging Practice Award, CLIMAVORE x Jameel at RCA, London, UK
2024: The Deputy Vice Chancellor’s International Scholarship, Royal College of Art, London, UK
2021: The Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (SEAF) Nomination, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2017: Parsons School of Design, New York, USA
🗣 Talks, Presentations
2025: Film Screening and Panel discussion, Royal College of Art, Hockney Gallery, London, UK
2024: Moderator, Photography Residency, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2024: International Women’s Day Talk, Sound Lab, Abu Dhabi, UAE
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Grants, Programs
2025: Emerging Practice Award, CLIMAVORE x Jameel at RCA, London, UK
2023: MAS Photography Residency, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), UAE
2023: Sikka Art and Design Festival, Dubai, UAE
2022: The Youth Takeover, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE
2022: SAMT Art and Research Residency, Dubai, UAE
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Group Shows
2025: Future Histories, British Film Institute, London UK
2025: Future Histories, Television Center Screening, London UK
2025: Coral Love, Horniman Museum and Gardens, London, UK
2025: Eternally Living in a liminal yet familiar dream, Brompton Cemetery, London, UK
2025: Liminial Body, The Hangar Gallery, Battersea, London, UK
2023: Mara, Spectrum Exhibition, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2023: Epoch, Dubai Design Week, Dubai Design District, Dubai, UAE
2023: Movement, Performance Art Show, Ren House, Dubai, UAE
2023: Flux, Sikka Art and Design Festival, Dubai, UAE
2023: Unseen, Succulence, Fall Art Expo, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2023: Emerge, FAM Art, 25hours Hotel, Dubai, UAE
2022: Homebody, Smol, The Youth Takeover, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE 2022: Surrender, Volume 5, SAMT Online Exhibition, Dubai, UAE
2022: Confluence, Ren House Art Exhibition, Dubai, UAE
🏛️ Curation, Facilitation
2025: Boyancy, Royal College of Art, London
2025: Earth to Earth. Gorst Road Studio, London
2023: KYU House & ATÖLYE Cop28, Alserkal Avenue
2023: Plant Seeds Art Exhibition, The Ren House
2023: Today at Apple: Made for Business,
2022-24: Treehouse Community Curation
2025: Brompton Cemetery Photography Walk, London 2024: Inner Child Workshop, PAUSE, Dubai UAE
2024: Intuitive Painting Workshop, The Hive JVC, Dubai UAE
2023: Regenerative Community Jam, ATÖLYE Cop28, Dubai UAE
2023: Alserkal Lates, Slow Art Work. Alserkal Avenue, Dubai UAE
2022-2023: Painting Workshop, The Ren House, Dubai UAE
2017: Collaborative Painting Workshop, India Home, Queens, New York City USA