Internationally acclaimed designer Nipa Doshi has unveiled an ambitious new body of work at NGV International, as the 2025 recipient of the Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission. The annual series invites globally renowned designers to create groundbreaking new works for the NGV Collection, highlighting the contributions of women in contemporary design.
Mumbai-born and London-based, Doshi is celebrated for her refined aesthetic that draws deeply on her Indian heritage. She is one half of the acclaimed Doshi Levien studio, founded in 2000 with her husband Jonathan Levien.
For this commission, Doshi presents A Room of My Own, a handcrafted, multi-dimensional cabinet inspired by kaavad – portable Indian shrines. Acting as both shrine and dressing table, the cabinet honours the women who shaped her life. Hidden within its doors are abstract portraits of influential female figures, from a 1970s Indian actress to a nurse who once cared for her.
Accompanying the cabinet is Doshi’s debut typeface, hand-painted at large scale across the gallery walls. Evoking architectural diagrams, the letters, numbers and symbols extend her spatial thinking into the graphic realm. A moving-image work animates this typeface alongside footage of the cabinet, interweaving memory, imagination and personal narrative.
“I am truly honoured to be the recipient of this very prestigious and generous award and see it as an opportunity to create exceptional new work, bringing together all the different aspects of my design practice. The creative freedom offered by the commission allows me to make work with a strong narrative, resulting in a collectible piece that embodies my values as a woman in design,” said Doshi.
Doshi is the fourth recipient of the Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission, Australia’s first and only initiative of its kind.
Nipa Doshi: Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission 2025 is on display at NGV International until 1 April 2026.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
