Dr Pooja Shah

Dr Pooja Shah is an interior designer with a particular expertise in transnational research focussing on social and cultural aspect of design. She worked in the industry as a designer for a short while before she got an opportunity to work in the studio of an American artist Jacob Hashimoto in New York. Since then her approach towards interiors have changed, she began to fuse her Indian roots with current belonging in the UK and evolved a practice called ‘RangKnit’ - bringing two unique cultural and domestic practices together. 

Creative and Heritage Industries (CHI)

Trained as an interior designer, Pooja's interest to coalesce design, culture and textiles grew when she began her PhD. Through her practice based doctoral research, Pooja knitted six intricate circle-shaped artefacts (one being at the dimension of 10' in diameter) bringing her sense of interiors to juxtaposition with her sense of culture and identity. Lying somewhere between contemporary knitting practices and Interior design, Pooja's knitted artefacts called 'RangKnit' often challenged the concept of 'home' and where interiors sit.

The concentric compositions of ‘Rangknit’ create a complex world recording different movements of body, conversations, gestures, narratives and experiences. The main argument that Pooja addresses through her research is the idea of ‘home’ no longer being a physical place/space/feeling that is left behind when a migrant travels, instead, it becomes a ‘practice’ that is intangible yet is often carried and continued into different territorial places and methods.

• Design Studio
• Design Methodologies
• Dissertation

Doctorate of Philosophy in Architecture, MRes in Creative Industries, MA Interior Design and BA (Hons) Interior Design 

BA (Hons) Interior Design and MA Interior Design 

Santander Mobility Award 2018

Knitting Together workshops engaging students and staff within DMU to learn a new skill to create a sense of confidence and home. 

• AHRA 20th International Conference at the University of Portsmouth 2023
• Postgraduate Research Conference at the University of Portsmouth 2022
• Festival of Doctoral Research (shortlisted for price), University of Portsmouth 2022
• Practice Research Symposium at the University of Portsmouth 2022
• Postgraduate Research Conference at the University of Portsmouth 2021
• Practice Research Symposium at the University of Portsmouth 2021
• Postgraduate Research Conference at the University of Portsmouth 2020
• Digital Postgraduate Presentation at the University of Portsmouth 2020.

Workshops:
• Knitting workshop 'The Patience of Placemaking through knitting' (session lead) at 20th International AHRA Conference at the University of Portsmouth 27th October 2023 
• Knitting workshop with the Refugee Hub, taking place at St. Luke’s Church, Portsmouth on 6th March 2023. It was funded by Hampshire Isle of Wight Community Fund.
• Hands-on Rangoli making workshop with the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Hub, supporting asylum seekers and Refugees to build a conversation and memories of their left home through the making of Rangoli. It was funded by Hampshire Isle of Wight Community Fund.
Took place on 27th February 2023 at St. Luke’s’ Church, Portsmouth.
• A series of 2 Knitting workshops took place at All Saints Church as a part of Portsmouth City of Sanctuary, supporting women who have experienced gender-based discrimination or abuse. It was funded by Hampshire Isle of Wight Community Fund. Occurred in September
2022 and October 2022.
• Knitting workshop at the Jack House Gallery, 13th August 2022 (funded by University of Portsmouth and the Jack House Gallery)
• Hands-on Rangoli making workshop at the Jack House Gallery, 20th August 2022 (funded by participants)
• A series of 2 Knitting workshops with the members of staff and students at the University of Portsmouth. It took place at Eldon Building in January 2020 & July 2022.
• Community Knitting workshop at St. Luke’s Christmas Fair, November 2019 to support MA IAD students of Portsmouth University through public interaction event. Knitting workshop (session lead) for upcoming AHRC Conference at the University of Portsmouth taking place in October 2023 

Exhibition:

• Solo exhibition | ‘RangKnit’ | Jack House Gallery, Portsmouth | August
10th – August 20th 2022
Exhibition published at:
• https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/university-of-portsmouth-phd-student-set-to-showcase-rangknit-work-in-solo-exhibition-at-the-jack-house-gallery-3797157
• Rangknit - Southsea Folk

Other activities:

• External Examiner | BCU x MIA Interior Design and Architecture Semester 5 Final Review – 19th Dec. 2022.
• Summer Internship |Jacob Hashimoto Studio, New York | 2019

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