C+D AiR Applications 2627

Applicant Information

About Your Practice

My artistic practice explores the relationship between discarded materials, everyday life, and the social and economic systems that shape our surroundings. Working primarily through sculpture and installation, I am interested in how materials acquire value, how they move between use and waste, and how the people who collect, sort, and reuse them develop their own forms of material knowledge.

My process begins with observing everyday environments and investigating the lives of objects within them. Through site-based research, conversations, and encounters with people involved in informal recycling and scrap trading, I examine how materials circulate through different hands and acquire new meanings. My engagement with scrap dealers has been particularly important in understanding how objects that are rejected as waste by some are recognised as valuable resources by others. These exchanges have expanded my understanding of material beyond its physical properties, revealing the relationships between labour, survival, resourcefulness, and the environments we inhabit.

I approach found and discarded materials as both physical substances and carriers of social histories. Their textures, forms, imperfections, and previous uses inform my decisions about how they might be arranged, combin

During the residency, I want to expand my sculptural and installation-based practice by exploring textiles as a material for research, experimentation, and spatial expression. My practice engages with discarded materials and the everyday environments in which objects circulate between use, rejection, and recovery. I am interested in extending this inquiry into textiles, exploring how their physical qualities, structures, and possibilities for transformation can open new directions in my work.

I would like to develop my technical understanding of textile processes, particularly stitching, weaving, knotting, layering, and the joining of different materials. I am interested in learning how these techniques can be used beyond conventional textile forms to create sculptural objects and installations. I want to experiment with the relationships between soft and rigid materials, weight and flexibility, and individual fragments and larger structures. Through this process, I hope to develop new ways of constructing work while remaining attentive to the material qualities and histories of the objects I use.

An important part of my practice is investigating the social and economic relationships embedded in everyday materials. My research into discarded objects and informal recycling pract

The Harbourfront Centre Craft & Design Residency represents an important next step in my artistic practice because it would allow me to bring my research-driven approach to sculpture and installation into a more sustained engagement with textile processes and material experimentation. My practice is rooted in observing everyday environments and investigating how materials acquire value, move through cycles of use and discard, and carry traces of the labour and social relationships surrounding them. I now want to expand this inquiry by developing a deeper understanding of textiles and their potential within my work.

What particularly attracts me to this residency is the opportunity to work within a dedicated studio environment where technical learning, experimentation, and critical exchange are central to artistic development. I want to strengthen my understanding of textile construction and explore how techniques such as stitching, weaving, knotting, and layering might inform my approach to three-dimensional form and installation. Access to studio facilities and guidance from experienced practitioners would allow me to investigate possibilities that are difficult to pursue without sustained access to specialised equipment, technical knowledge, and a focused working environment.

Technical Readiness

My technical experience is grounded in material-based artistic practice, particularly the investigation, selection, and arrangement of found and discarded materials for sculptural and installation-based work. Through my research into everyday material environments and informal recycling practices, I have developed an attentive approach to observing material qualities, identifying potential uses, and considering how different materials might be brought together to communicate an idea.

I am comfortable approaching materials through observation, research, and hands-on experimentation, allowing their physical characteristics and existing conditions to inform the development of my work. My experience has encouraged me to think carefully about material selection, composition, and the relationship between individual elements and the overall structure of an artwork. I am interested in extending these methods into textile-based practice, where construction techniques and material properties can open up new possibilities for three-dimensional forms and spatial installations.

Through the Textiles Studio residency, I would like to develop practical experience with textile processes, particularly stitching, weaving, knotting, layering, and joining materials. I am also interested in learning

Residency Readiness

I would contribute to the shared studio environment through an open, collaborative, and research-driven approach to making. My artistic practice involves observing everyday environments, investigating discarded materials, and learning from the people and processes involved in their recovery and reuse. This has taught me to approach materials with curiosity, remain open to unexpected possibilities, and recognise the value of different forms of knowledge and experience.

I would bring this spirit of experimentation into the studio by sharing ideas, discussing my processes, exchanging feedback, and engaging thoughtfully with the work of other residents. I value an environment in which artists can learn from one another, ask questions, test ideas, and approach challenges from different perspectives. I would also contribute by being considerate of shared equipment and workspace, respecting studio protocols, maintaining an organised working area, and participating responsibly in the everyday life of the studio community.

In return, I hope to learn from artists whose materials, techniques, and approaches differ from my own. As I expand my sculptural and installation-based practice into textiles, I would particularly value opportunities to observe different working methods, exchange pra

One experience that demonstrates my ability to independently develop and sustain my artistic work is my ongoing research into discarded materials, informal recycling practices, and the everyday material environments of Karachi. This research has grown from my interest in understanding how objects move between use, rejection, recovery, and reuse, and how their meanings and values change through these processes.

I have approached this project through independent observation, conversations with scrap dealers, and close attention to the ways discarded materials are collected, sorted, cleaned, and returned to circulation. Speaking with people directly involved in this work has helped me understand the practical knowledge, labour, and decision-making behind processes that often remain invisible. These encounters have also challenged my assumptions about waste, showing me that the value of a material depends not only on its physical properties but also on the knowledge and circumstances of the people who handle it.

Developing this research has required me to remain attentive to everyday details, ask questions, follow unexpected directions, and reconsider how my observations might inform my artistic practice. Rather than beginning with a predetermined final form, I allow the research a

Your Current CV

Upload a current artistic CV outlining relevant education, exhibitions, residencies, professional experience, awards, commissions or other activities related to your practice.

Your Portfolio

Submit 10 images of work that best represent your current artistic practice and technical abilities. Only 3 detail or installation shots should be included; all other images must be single‑work images.

Images must formatted to required specifications: 

1. Pixel Dimensions: 3000 to 4000 pixels on the longest side


2. Resolution/DPI: 300 DPI 


3. File Format: JPEG 


4. Color Profile: sRGB 


5. Maximum File Size: 5MB to 10MB 

Provide a single text document that lists the following details for each image provided:

• Title


• Date


• Materials


• Dimensions


• Processes / techniques


• Brief description or context, where useful

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