HARSH BHAVSAR
About
Harsh Bhavsar is an architect, photographer, exhibition designer, and curator who has developed a comprehensive approach to design thinking and visual expression. He often incorporates his own body language into the creative process.
Through his work, harsh seeks to construct a thoughtful narrative, exploring forms, phenomena, orders, and pedagogical models that blend artistic and architectural practices. His research focuses on the transformation and activation of spaces, utilizing visual narratives that capture his exploration of time and place. These elements are central to his ongoing study of how spaces can be perceived and experienced through design and art.
Education
(2015-2017)
International Master of Interior Architecture
Design (IMIAD)
Centre for Environmental Planning and
Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad, India
Grade: 3.0 / 4.3
Majored in History, Theory and Criticism
My master’s thesis: “Understanding Sequences in Charles Correa’s Abstraction of Spaces”, was directed toward the elaboration of visual narratives embedded in Correa’s work by using the camera as a tool to establish resonances and record visual sequences. I received the Best Thesis Award for the same.
Awards: Distinguished Student Award
Exchange Programme
I got an opportunity in my master's to be a part of an exchange program at Scuola Universitaria Professionale Della Svizzera Italiana Lugano, Switzerland, where I was able to understand design in a cultural context, as well as International Communication in Architecture.
(2012-2015)
Bachelor of Architecture
Gujarat University, India
Majored in Building Construction Technology
Grade: 7.3 / 10
Activities: I worked as a Design development intern for a range of projects, including a private residence, housing clusters, master planning, developing landscape drawings for riverfront developments, and the development of detailed drawings and the making of physical and digital models.
Thesis: The design thesis submitted was a Center for Development of Art Exhibits and Demonstration Aids
Experience
(2014-2015)
Assistant Professor
Kalol Institute of Architecture and Design, Kalol, India
Instruction in Architectural Graphic Techniques through exploration of the value of representation through drawing and by developing a subjective visual narrative to understand an image and the act of innovating pixels.
(2018)
Exhibition Designer and Curator
Curated and designed, the exhibition “1918 Ahmedabad Millworkers” Strike, displayed at IIC, New Delhi, is focused on India’s first industrial labor strike, between the textile laborers and millowners of Ahmedabad.
(2018)
Exhibition Designer and Curator
Curated and designed, the exhibition “1918 Ahmedabad Millworkers” Strike, displayed at IIC, New Delhi, is focused on India’s first industrial labor strike, between the textile laborers and millowners of Ahmedabad.
(Aug, 2017 -
June, 2019)
Architect and Designer
Asopalav Nidhi, Shanti Sadan,
Ahmedabad, India
Responsible for the design, development, and supervision of architectural repairs at Shanti Sadan, a one-hundred-year-old colonial villa in Ahmedabad. I was also a part of the design, research, and development of exhibitions, workshops, and special educational projects for Shanti Sadan
Worked as an exhibition designer for the following projects at Shanti Sadan
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Many Moons at Shanti Sadan
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Farbe: A Display of the Colour Portfolio and Serigraphs of Armin Hofmann
(Aug - Dec,
2019)
SAL School of Architecture,
Ahmedabad, India
Instructed the paper on understanding the basics of a camera, what it sees, the technique of translating an emotion to film, and understanding its structure.
(Jan, 2020 -
Dec, 2021)
Academic Associate
CEPT Foundation Program,
Ahmedabad, India
Involved in instruction for studios for the CEPT Foundation Programme
(Feb, 2020 -
March, 2021)
Exhibition designer and Curator
Lilavati Lalbhai Library, CEPT,
Curated and designed many major physical and virtual exhibitions:
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Installed the “Delhi Modern: The Architecture of Independent India seen through the Eyes of Madan Mahatta to exhibit how architecture is seen as a demonstration of progress and development.
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“Constructions,” A virtual exhibition of Art and architecture, processes, and explorations by Percy Pithawala.
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Kohima - Objects, Institutions, and Identity.A virtual exhibition concerning the outcome of the Third Year Study trip of the students of KRVIA to Nagaland, wherein the students studied and documented the Institutions of Kohima City by tracing multiple narratives of the city via the everyday objects found in the homes of the Angami tribal community in the Kohima Village.
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Wild and Wonderful in Ahmedabad, A virtual exhibition of sketches and collages by the prominent Indian artist, Amit Ambalal.
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Itiha - stories and traditions of vernacular furniture, An exhibition that focused on a journey through the vernacular furniture of north-west India concerning aspects of design, function, and making, as well as associated stories and narratives that signify its relevance in a given context.
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Celebrating Gundiyali - Beyond Clay, An exhibition emphasizing the idea of developing opportunities for sustainable development in the craft communities by bringing craft and experiential tourism together.
(Aug, 2021 -
June, 2023)
Exhibition Designer and Curator at
Kaash Foundation, Bangalore, India
Curated and designed the following exhibitions:
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“Thinking Hands”, exhibition, displays knowledge of traditional art practices in new media, unearthing new facets of established traditions with artists and beyond.
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“Roopantar - Transformation” celebrated the fundamental act involved in any creative design process: that of TRANSFORMATION (Roopantar), of changing materials through skills and processes, and of shifting meanings and perceptions, by makers in India and abroad.
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“The Divine Blue” A talk on Indigo, and an exhibition of artworks by artist Kaimurai.
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“In Praise of Shadows,” A display of Leather Puppetry from South India.
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Coexistence and Culture A talk by the Real Elephant Collective, and an exhibition of a herd of life-size elephants traveling the world, calling on people to live well with nature.
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Deconstructing the Pichhwai A conversation and exhibit on the traditional and present-day Pichhwai.
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Kaash - The Glimmer of Black: A Conversation and Display of Bidri Metalworking, its History, and its Relevance Today
(Nov, 2021 -
May 2022)
Architect and Designer
Imphal, Manipur, India
Responsible for the Shamu Makhong: Restoration Project as the restoration architect to repair and give longevity to the Shamu Makhong monument.
(June, 2022 -
Ongoing)
Architect and Designer
Imphal, Manipur, India
Appointed as a restoration architect for the project “Shri Gobindji Temple: Restoration Project.”
(Aug, 2022)
Visiting Faculty
Department of Design, Nirma University,
Instructed the paper on “Imagining Techniques II” focused on the photographer’s approach and style of working, by observing and capturing images that, when put together, can convey/communicate a message, story, theme, or inform about a subject.
(Nov - Dec,
2022)
Lighting Designer
Anegundi, Hampi
Worked as a Lighting designer for Red Lilies, Water Birds — The Saree in Nine Stories
Exhibition
(July, 2019 -
Ongoing)
Design Researcher
Studio Praxis,
Ahmedabad, India
Involved in research, publications, and development of exhibitions, workshops and special
educational projects.
(2017-2019)
Photographer and Cinematographer
for Out Of India Collective (OOI) and Metropolitan
Transmedia Authority (MTA)
(Jan, 2019-
Ongoing)
Project Coordinator and Photographer
I am working on a project named “Stepping into Wells” with Claudio Cambon that aims to photograph step wells in India and document known and lesser-known subterranean structures in India.
Harsh X Space | 2024 | All Rights Reserved
Publications
(2022)
Title: Ashutosh Potdar and Sharmistha Saha, eds., Performance Making and the Archive
Co-Authors: Gavin Keeney, Ishita Jain,
An article, C’est la CEPT: Archiving the Archive” (découpage integral), published in this book
Delhi: Routledge India, 2022. ISBN: 9780367195601
(2019)
“Fragments of Khi + Ordo: Room A-702”.
An absurd attempt to insert the oceanic elements of the Khi + Ordo tale into a model of Dinesh Hall for the Abhivyakti City Arts Project.
(2019)
“Fragments of Khi + Ordo: The Dying Mermaid”.
(2019)
Co-Authors: Arthur Duff, and Kanika Arora, “Mehta Bequest”.
Catalog and documentation of Jaimini and Punita Mehta’s
collection of books.
(2018)
“Learning Color at Shanti Sadan”.
A portfolio of the Colour Workshop with Moritz Zwimpfer.
(Feb, 2018)
Magazine: Sports and Style Magazine
A photo essay named “Modern Architecture in Ahmedabad” for the column Fashion and Architecture published pictures.
Honors & Awards
(2019)
Recipient of the Ahmedabad Citizens’ Fellowship towards active participation in civic issues.
(2018)
23rd recipient of the prestigious Ramesh M. Bhatt fellowship for great ability and commitment to work with and for the poor in creative or innovative ways.
(2013)
Best Architectural Photographer
The Indian Institute of Architects, Baroda Chapter
Framing Chisholm: Architecture and Beyond