Memories of Hanif Kureshi: Projects, People, Practice

Special Project
Talks

Josmo Studio, FC Goa House H No. 850, Off NH 66, Porvorim, Goa 403521

20th December

03:30 PM - 05:00 PM

About the panel discussion:

A conversation moderated by Akshay Tandon, founder of Solarpunk Futures and CEO of JOSMO, featuring Ayaz Basrai Co-founder of the Busride Design Studio; Rutva Trivedi, Design Director of Guerrilla Art & Design, and Smriti Rajgarhia, Director of Serendipity Arts Foundation and the Serendipity Arts Festival. Together the panellists will reflect on key projects they created with Hanif and delve into the process, sharing rare behind-the-scenes moments and tracing how Hanif’s practice moved fluidly across disciplines, shifting creative landscapes.

Blending the back stage and the front stage of untold stories, the event becomes an intimate ode to Hanif’s polyergic practice and a space to remember who he was: expansive, relentless, and deeply influential.

Moderator

Akshay Tandon | Founder of Solarpunk Futures Akshay Tandon founded Solarpunk Futures, a startup that pioneers regenerative construction, replacing carbon-heavy materials with earth masonry and local resources to create sustainable living spaces. As CEO of JOSMO since 2023, he has helped scale the design studio to a manufacturer, making good design accessible to consumers and businesses pan-India.

Panelists

Rutva Trivedi | Design Director of Guerrilla Art and Design (GAD)

Rutva Trivedi is the Design Director of Guerrilla Art & Design, where she curates, conceptualises and creates experiences, installations, visual identities, museums, and more. As Hanif Kureshi’s life and work partner, she joins this panel to celebrate his practice and enduring legacy.

Smriti Rajgarhia | Director of the Serendipity Arts Foundation and the Serendipity Arts Festival

Smriti Rajgarhia, an architect and design expert, is the Director of Serendipity Arts Foundation and Festival. With fourteen years in arts, she pioneered museum archiving in New Delhi, championing art education and public engagement. Her work spans exhibition curation, furniture design, and urban art interventions, aiming to broaden artistic representation and audience diversity in India through innovative cultural programming.

Ayaz Basrai | Co-founder of The Busride Design Studio

Ayaz Basrai is the co-founder of The Busride Design Studio, one of India’s leading architecture and interior design practices. He founded The Busride with his brother Zameer in 2006, creating built environments across hospitality, entertainment, film, exhibitions, and institutional spaces. He now leads The Busride Lab in Goa, focusing on speculative futures, heritage conservation, and the India Futures Project.

A Note on Hanif Kureshi

Born in Palitana, Gujarat, in 1982, Hanif Kureshi was known for his innovative approach to typography. A graduate of MSU Baroda, his two-decade practice spanned advertising, art direction, and public art through murals, installations, and site-specific works.

His work has been showcased at international platforms such as the London Design Biennale, Venice Biennale, Centre Pompidou Paris, Triennale Design Museum Milan, and Sikka Art Fair Dubai.

More than an artist, he was a visionary who reshaped public space into accessible cultural experiences. His belief in dissolving boundaries between artist and audience shaped both his practice and the organisations he co-founded, including St+art India Foundation, Guerrilla Art & Design, XXL Collective, and Gallery XXL.

Registration Link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_WHeF0pANsGiqxgNCiseMgrMO3WN6bfzBA6pG2TuLuEu7tg/viewform?usp=publish-editor