Hello! I am Ankita Bhat, a Singaporean-Indian designer based in Brooklyn, New York, born and raised in Singapore. I draw from my upbringing and fascinations in language, ritual and spirituality as it relates to science; my furniture explores diaspora and intergenerational experiences through motifs, rituals, and material histories. Working with multiple disciplines, I experiment with stains, patinas, solutions, and composites, investigating the relationship between labour, culture, matrilineage and craft. Rice has recently become a central material in my practice, and begins to expose not just an aesthetic choice, but one whose lifespan and capacity for expression greatly exceeds my own. Rice patina-printing on metal and fabric-printing have been generative in these areas, and I can’t wait to share more of what she (rice) teaches me through my work that is to come. Rice is always present within my objects, whether she is visible or not.
I hold a BFA’2026 in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and my work has been shown during NYC Design Week, the National Hand Paper Maker’s Conference, and the RISD Museum’s student gallery. My writing is a new facet of my creative practice that I want to share soon on this website as well.
Visit my CV here!
Ankita is based in
Find her on
ankitabhatp@gmail.com
Awards
Pen and Chisel Award - Furniture Department, Rhode Island School of Design 2026. For excellence in using writing to develop creative work.
Press
2026
desi-gned Issue 4 - Cover and motif graphics designed and reimagined by Ankita Bhat
Nothing Follows Its Spontaneous Course - https://nothingfollows.cargo.site/
AS220 - Please Do Not Touch, Curated by Ankita Bhat and Sihan Tara Chen
RISD Spotlight - Furniture Design student Ankita Bhat’s work is guided by intuition.
RISD Nature Lab - Recipes and contributions by students
2025
Waterfire Arts Centre, Providence - Nothing Follows Its Spontaneous Course 2025
Surfaces Reporter - RISD Students turn Campus Waste into Material Innovation | Loop Lab
RISD News and Events - RISD’s Loop Lab Transforms Paper Waste into Materials for Studio Practice
Dezeen - RISD's Loop Lab transforms its own waste streams into raw materials
Sight Unseen - 13 Group Shows We Loved at New York Design Week 2025
Jonald Dudd - 2025
VISIONS Magazine - Spring 2025 Issue
Regenerative Earth Collective, RISD - Kinning Garden Show, 2025
RISD News and Events - RISD Furniture Design Students Seek Inspiration for Final Lighting Design Projects
Merida Studio - The Studio Series
2024
VISIONS Magazine - Fall 2024 Issue
Regenerative Earth Collective, RISD - Kinning Garden Show, 2024