YUKTI V.
AGARWAL
WRITING
DESIGN
ART
Yukti V. Agarwal is a multidisciplinary creative working at the intersection of curatorial, editorial, and research-driven practice in the art, design, and culture industries. She bridges physical and digital worlds, using storytelling to surface meaning through form.

She holds degrees in Textile Engineering, Psychology, Contemplative Studies, and Art History from Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design. She currently serves on the Steering Committee for RISD’s Strategic Planning, shaping the institution’s next 150 years; the advisory board for RISD’s inaugural Asian Alumni Reunion; and is President of both the Brown Club of India and the RISD Club of India.

In 2026, she founded STUDIOYVA [pronounced STUDIO-EVA], an art advisory, brand development, and product design studio grounded in a philosophy of Conscious Creativity, shaped by her long-standing practice of yoga and meditation; as well as Library of Printed Things, an open-source community library of over 1500 books and printed materials on art, design, and culture. 

She is the founding editor of desi–gned, New England’s first publication for the South Asian diaspora, and co-editor of the Brown Alumni Magazine’s Meet Gen Z special issue, which won the 2025 Eddie Award. She continues to write for her alma mater, through her alumni interview series, Continuum for the Brown | RISD Dual Degree Program, and her Ear Candy column in the newsletter of the Brown Alumni Magazine.

Her work on the museum and curatorial side is most prominently articulated through her framework of Sensory Speculations, adopted in museum pedagogy to reimagine traditional archiving practices. This extends to her work in reintroducing native terminology in museum collections, including projects Kashmir//Cashmeer supported by the Student Ubiquitous Research Grant, (Re)Painting Histories at the RISD Museum’s grand galleries, and Sensory Silhouettes with the Virtual Textiles Research Group supported by the National Science Foundation. 

As a practicing artist and designer, her work has been acquired by several international collections, including the RISD Museum, John Hay Library, and Fleet Library. In 2024, she was part of the organizing team of Objects May Shift at Salone del Mobile, Milan, where she presented her work in textile engineering and product design inspired by a framework of developing Contemplative Spaces. 

Yukti is the recipient of several awards and grants, including the Catherine Kerr Award, Casey Shearer Award for Creative Nonfiction, Baker & Whitfield Prize, and the Barbara L. Kulhman Foundation Scholarship for the Fiber Arts.

She currently manages external relations and outreach at India Art Fair, with a focus on cultivating a new era of patronage through the fair’s Young Collectors’ Programme. Previously, she worked at Ralph Lauren, Code and Theory, and Pavitra Rajaram Design.

Outside of her professional work, Yukti is an avid skier, handloom weaver, and enjoys board games.


SELECTED PRESS:  Putting the “Desi” in Design: A Pioneering Mag on South Asian Culture   RISD Museum Acquires Collaborative Work by Yukti V. Agarwal and Ethan Hoskins   Brown, RISD Students Launch New England’s First Publication for South Asian Diaspora   At Milan Design Week, the Power is in the Collection, The New York Times




EDUCATION

Brown | RISD Dual Degree Program, Dec 2024

Honors Recipient, GPA 3.95
Phi Beta Kappa, Brown University Chapter
Sigma Xi, Brown University Chapter

 Dual Degree Capstone Presentation

       Brown University
       B.A. Psychology
       B.A. Contemplative Studies

       Rhode Island School of Design
       B.F.A Textiles
       Minor: Theory and History of Art and Design (Museum Track)


Harvard Business School Online, 2020
Full Scholarship Recipient
CoRE: Business Analytics, Financial Accounting, and Economics for Managers


CURRENTLY

Senior Manager, External Relations and Outreach, India Art Fair
Strategy, India Art Fair Young Collectors’ Programme 

Founder, LIBRARY OF PRINTED THINGS
Co-Founder, Continnuum, Brown | RISD Dual Degree
Co-Founder, desi-gned Magazine

Strategic Planning Steering Committee Member, Rhode Island School of Design
Asian Alumni Reunion Advisory Board Member, Rhode Island School of Design

Club Lead, RISD Club of India
Co-President, Brown Club of India


PAST EXPERIENCE

Project-Based Managing Editor, Brown Alumni Magazine
Curatorial Consultant, Jammu & Kashmir Government & UNESCO Creative Cities Network
User Research Intern, Code and Theory
Knits and Sweater Intern, Ralph Lauren
Design Intern, Pavitra Rajaram Design
Innovation Intern, Yog Love

Research Assistant, RISD Museum
Researcher, Virtual Textiles Research Group
Knitting Software Teaching Assistant, Anna Gitelson-Kahn
Foundational Drawing Teaching Assistant, Masha Ryskin
Foundational Design Teaching Assistant, Yvegeniya Baras
Language Tutor, Arts and Language Center


PERMANENT COLLECTIONS

ten days (give or take), Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design
Yukti V. Agarwal Collection, John Hay Library
Period (Note) Pads, The Fleet Library 
The Woman’s Way, The Fleet Library 
Oral History Project, Pembroke Center


EXHIBITIONS

Textiles Triennial / Woods Gerry Gallery / Providence, RI, USA / 2024 
Sensory Silhouettes / Aldrich Gallery, RISD Museum / Providence, RI, USA / 2024
Textiles Senior Show / Woods Gerry Gallery / Providence, RI, USA / 2024
Graduate Thesis Exhibit / Amica Convention Center / Providence, RI, USA / 2024
Objects May Shift  / Salone Satellite / Milan, Italy / 2024
While The Sap Flows / Cohen Gallery, Granoff Center / Providence, RI, USA / 2024
Majnun by Jaipur Rugs x Pavitra Rajaram Design / Salone del Mobile / Milan, Italy / 2023
Major Survey Show / Gelman Gallery / Providence, RI, USA / 2023
The Witching Hour / Cohen Gallery, Granoff Center / Providence, RI, USA / 2023
Inherent Vice: Hidden Narratives / Donghia Gallery, RISD Museum / Providence, RI, USA / 2023
Inherent Vice / Donghia Gallery, RISD Museum / Providence, RI, USA / 2022
translat[] / Cohen Gallery, Granoff Center / Providence, RI, USA / 2022
Chai Tea Latte / Gelman Gallery / Providence, RI, USA / 2021
Journey of the Jamawar / Aldrich Gallery, RISD Museum / Providence, RI, USA / 2021
Many Years Later / Cohen Gallery, Granoff Center / Providence, RI, USA / 2020
Pre-College Show / Woods Gerry Gallery / Providence, RI, USA / 2018

AWARDS

Eddie Award (One of the top national awards in the magazine business), Brown Alumni Magazine, April/May 2025
Catherine Kerr Award for Best Capstone, Contemplative Studies Department, Brown University, 2024 
Collaborative Work Award in the Fine Arts Division, Rhode Island School of Design, 2024 
Casey Shearer Award for Creative Non-Fiction, English Department, Brown Univerisity, 2024Special Collections Library Purchase Prize, John Hay Library, 2021
Baker & Whitfield Prize, The Fleet Library, 2020 & 2021 
Academic Excellence, Bombay International School, 2019 
150th Anniversary Pillo Pochkhanwala Prize, J.B. Petit Association, 2017


GRANTS

Industrial Design Health and Wellness Fund, 2024 
Barbara L. Kulhman Foundation Scholarship for the Fiber Arts, 2024 
Brown Arts Institute (BAI) Student Grant, 2023
Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship Explore Grant, 2023 
Research at Brown (RAB) Undergraduate Grant, 2023 
Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia Grant, 2023 
Pembroke Center for Teaching and Women Grant, 2023 
Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice Grant, 2023 
History of Art and Architecture Grant, 2023
Student Provisional Ubiquitous Research Grant, RISD Research, 2021 
Global Brown Fellowship, Brown University, 2021


PUBLICATIONS

desi-gned, Issue 1
Tactile Texts—Sensory Speculations, desi-gned, Issue 2
Conscious Creativity, desi-gned, Issue 3
(Re)Painting Histories, desi-gned, Issue 3
Sensory Silhouettes, RISD Museum
The Knit Wiggle, Harvard Undergraduate Art Journal
The Knit Wiggle, RISD Viewbook v.12, 2024-2025 (pg. 110)
The Anthropophagic Effect, Garment no. 1, RISD Museum
How To Pretend To Be Dead (A Manual), The College Hill Independent
Proximity, The College Hill Independent
In our focus on viruses, we underestimate the risk of the deadly bacteria, Brown Daily Herald
Why I Love Art: My Nani’s Tijori, Museum of Art & Photography
Why Are My Country’s Treasures Sitting In Your Glass Cases?, The College Hill Independent
Flights of Fancy, Brown Alumni Magazine



NEWS

At Milan Design Week, the Power is in the Collection, The New York Times
20 Unmissable Exhibitions at Milan Design Week, Dezeen
RISD’s Exhibition Offered a Woozy Vision for Our Domestic Future, Sight Unseen
Putting the “Desi” in Design: A Pioneering Mag on South Asian Culture, Brown Alumni Magazine
RISD Museum Acquires Collaborative Work by Yukti V. Agarwal (BRDD 2024.5) and Ethan Hoskins (BRDD 2024), BRDD
Brown, RISD Students Launch New England’s First Publication for South Asian Diaspora, (Print Issue), Brown Daily Herald
Cloth looms, poetry and portraits: RISD Museum viewing day shows newly acquired pieces, (Print Issue), Brown Daily Herald
A Constellation of Innovations, Stir World
Meet Yukti V. Agarwal, Canvas Rebel
SPUR-Funded RISD Student Research Advances Sustainability and Social Equity, RISD News
RISD Makes a Splash at Milan Design Week, RISD News
SPUR-Funded Research Underway, RISD News
Launching New England’s First Publication for the South Asian Diaspora, RISD 1877
Post by RISD’s President, Crystal Williams
Brown-RISD Dual Degree students hold ‘fantastical’ art exhibition, Brown Daily Herald
2022 Emerging Creatives Students Summit, The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities
RISD Textiles Students Weave Personal Narratives, RISD News
Students Make Marvelous Books, RISD News
6th and 7th Baker & Whitehill Student Artist’s Book Content 2021, RISD News
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