AT A GLANCE
Alaka Kavallur
Assistant Professor – Senior Scale
Area of Practice: Community Art Projects, Pedagogy, Design Education, Visual Communication, Illustration, Curatorial Practice, Craft Documentation, Photography, and Visual Culture
OVERVIEW
Alaka Kavallur is an artist, designer and educator from Kerala, currently practising design at the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology in Bangalore. Alongside her academic engagement, she runs Anpu Design and Research, a design studio through which she undertakes projects in art, design, and illustration.
Previously, she taught at the School of Arts and Design at Woxsen University in Hyderabad. Her academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Media from the Amrita Institute of Arts, Science, and Technology in Kochi and a Master’s in Aesthetics and Visual Cultures from Srishti School of Art, Design, and Technology, Bangalore.
Her professional journey has involved diverse engagements in pedagogy, illustration, visual design, exhibition curation, theatre, and heritage documentation, mostly based in India. She has also held positions as Assistant Professor at the Avani Institute of Design in Calicut and as an Instructional Designer at Artville Academy in Bangalore.
Her design practice emphasises collaboration with communities, individuals, and institutions as a way to contribute to a larger process of humanisation. She views her journey as one of ongoing refinement, with each day offering a new opportunity for self-discovery through creative and collective work.
EDUCATION
- B.Sc Visual Media from ASAS Kochi, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, Ettimadai, Tamil Nadu
- MA in Aesthetics and Visual Cultures from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore, University of Mysore, Karnataka
WORK EXPERIENCE
2022 – Present
Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore
Assistant Professor
2022 – June – October
Artville Academy, Bangalore
Instructional Designer & Faculty
Curriculum Design, Facilitation, Academic Framework & Overall coordination of the Art and Design Foundation Program
2020-2022
School of Arts and Design, Woxsen University, Hyderabad
Assistant Professor & Program Chair of B.Des Foundation Program
Curriculum Design, Academic Framework & Overall coordination of the program
Courses Mentored: Elements and Principles of Design, Elements of Form, Space and Structure, Visual Arts, Photography, Material Explorations, Illustration
Internal Quality Assurance Cell Head
Member of Board of Studies Committee
Chief Editor of College Design Journal
Mentor of academic and personal wellness of students
2018-2020
Avani Institute of Design, Calicut
Assistant Professor
Formulating academic framework for the integrated studio (2018-19, 2019-20)
Courses Mentored: Integrated Studio Semester 1 & 2 (Basic Design, Visual Arts and Presentation & Model Making )
Program curator for multiple workshop including Uruvam Community Art Project (2018-20)
2018-2019
Avani Art Initiative, Calicut
Program Coordinator
Mentor and Guide for Avani Summer Art Program
Program coordinator for multiple art exhibitions and workshops
Visual Designer
2017-2018
IIT Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Project Assistant
Photo Documentation of Qutub Shahi Tombs
Digital Archiving to curate the 10-year anniversary coffee table book for IIT Hyderabad
2017-2018
IIT Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Project Assistant
Photo Documentation of Qutub Shahi Tombs
Digital Archiving to curate the 10 year anniversary coffee table book for IIT Hyderabad
2014
Coralframe Technologies, Ernakulam
Creative Designer
Visual Designing
Commercial Branding and Visual identity
Social Media Management
2013
Abhayan Smaraka Kendram, Kottayam
Editor and Visual Designer
Editor and visual designer of all the publications from the ASK Trust
2012
Theater Hut, Kottayam
Designer and Creative Coordinator
Program coordination for Multiple performances
Visual Design
INTEREST AREAS
Community Art Projects, Pedagogy, Design Education, Visual Communication, Illustration, Curatorial Practice, Craft Documentation, Photography, and Visual Culture
CURRENT PRACTICE AT SRISHTI
Facilitating Design Practices in Visual Communication and Strategic Branding and B.Voc & Foundation Program.
TEACHING PORTFOLIO
2022 – Present
Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore
Faculty & Design Practitioner
2022 – June – October
Artville Academy, Bangalore
Instructional Designer & Faculty
Curriculum Design, Facilitation, Academic Framework & Overall coordination of the Art and Design Foundation Program
2020-2022
School of Arts and Design, Woxsen University, Hyderabad
Assistant Professor & Program Chair of B.Des Foundation Program
Curriculum Design, Academic Framework & Overall coordination of the program
Courses Mentored: Elements and Principles of Design, Elements of Form, Space and Structure, Visual Arts, Photography, Material Explorations, Illustration
Internal Quality Assurance Cell Head
Member of Board of Studies Committee
Chief Editor of College Design Journal
Mentor of academic and personal wellness of students
2018-2020
Avani Institute of Design, Calicut
Assistant Professor
Formulating academic framework for the integrated studio (2018-19, 2019-20)
Courses Mentored: Integrated Studio Semester 1 & 2 (Basic Design, Visual Arts and Presentation & Model Making )
Program curator for multiple workshop including Uruvam Community Art Project (2018-20)
CREATIVE PRACTICE & OUTREACH
- Collaborating with the Archival and Research Project (ARPO) on storytelling through illustration and branding
- Solo exhibition: Home and the Ocean at Artville Gallery, Bangalore
- Conducted Bandhini Workshop at Artville Academy, Bangalore
- Coordinating and Facilitating Uruvam Community Art Project at Janakeeya Vayanasala, Ponkunnam Public Library, Kottayam, Kerala
- Second Prize Winner in Wiki Loves Monuments Photography Contest organised by the Wikipedia community
