about
Shankar Padmanabhan is a designer, educator, and musician from Vancouver, Canada, currently based in Doha, Qatar. He holds an M.Des in Interdisciplinary Design from Emily Carr University of Art + Design and a B.S. in Resource Conservation (minor Wildlife Biology) from the University of Montana.
He has taught at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, the University of Montana, and the Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago), with 10+ years of experience collaborating and supporting coursework across all undergraduate and graduate programs at Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts, in Qatar.
Shankar’s practice explores and is supported by theoretical underpinnings found in Object Oriented Ontology (OOO) and Material Engagement Theory (MET). Through the development of speculative fiction and diegetic artifacts, his practice aims to navigate sociocultural, technological, and biological landscapes in order to critically reflect and interrogate the role of design in our everyday lives. Examining the human-object relationship, Shankar's practice employs a discursive approach to develop ‘what if’ scenarios and weave narratives that are considerate of human relations, interactions, aspirations, and dreams.
CV and Teaching Philosophy available upon request