Nipa Doshi awarded 2025 Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission

Mumbai-born, London-based designer Nipa Doshi has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the annual Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission. She is the fourth recipient of the five-year commission series, established in 2021, which each year invites a globally-renowned designer to create new work for the NGV Collection with the aim of redressing its historical gender imbalance.

The purpose of the commission is to drive meaningful progress towards gender equality, by championing opportunities for women and girls in the arts and design, and to inspire the next generation of female creatives. According to a release from the NGV, the commission is "the first and only series of its kind in Australia" that "creates a platform to present topical, world-premiere works of international significance to highlight the contributions and practices of women in design."

For her 2025 commission, Doshi will create a new piece of conceptual furniture, titled A Room of My Own. The work will take the form of a handcrafted, multidimensional cabinet that serves as both a shrine and a dressing table, fusing functionality with personal history and memory.

View gallery Doshi Levien Quilton process. Image: Rodrigo Carmeuga

Drawing inspiration from portable Indian shrines known as Kavad, the cabinet is a space for personal ritual and care. Abstract portraits concealed behind the cabinet's doors pay homage to generations of women who have shaped the artist's life and career, including an avant-garde 1970s Indian actress, an elderly matriarch who lived in Doshi's neighbourhood while she was a child and a compassionate nurse who cared for the designer.

The work is characteristic of Doshi's approach, which draws upon an array of influences and memories from her own life. In the past, these have included seminal 1970s Bollywood films, Indian pigments and textiles, the architecture of Le Corbusier, Doshi's grandmother's traditional Indian gold and enamel earrings, and the royal miniature paintings of Jodhpur.

Reflecting on Doshi's win, founder and co-CEO of Mecca Jo Horgan noted, "She is one of the global leaders in design for a reason: she challenges established norms and ensures her cultural identity is infused into everything she does. More than that, her products, design and detail keep us all focused on the value of women's voices, experiences, and craftsmanship."

Along with her husband, Jonathan Levien, Doshi established Doshi Levien studio in 2000. Their work has been exhibited across the globe in institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, and MoMA in New York.

This year's NGV Women in Design Commission will be unveiled at NGV International in Melbourne on 25 September. Ahead of the artwork's unveiling, Doshi will give an in-conversation talk and host a workshop at the NGV International this International Women's Day on Saturday 8 March.