AM

Arun Mascarenhas

IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay, Indian Institute of Management Mumbai, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

ORCID iD 0000-0002-3059-2567
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About

Professor Arun has over two decades of experience in creative domains, working at the intersection of creative practice, pedagogy and critical enquiry. His professional career began as an assistant toy designer after graduating as a sculptor (2007), with a gold medal. This marked the beginning of his engagement with the form, materials, and poetics of play, characterised by industrial design. Subsequently, after obtaining his Master’s degree (MFA), he continued as a designer while serving as a visiting faculty member at his alma mater, the Department of Sculpture, College of Art, New Delhi. In 2011, he opted to teach full-time at Indian Central Schools (KVS) until 2013, gaining experience with students aged 6–18 years and refining his pedagogical skills in art, craft, and foundational design. He later served as a Design Professor at NIFT Kannur and IIT Hyderabad before joining IIT Bombay in 2018. In addition to his art practice and teaching design at various institutions, he has been involved in design, research, policy studies, and administrative responsibilities while contributing to national and international dialogues on design education.

His background in drawing, sculpture, art history, and aesthetics underpins his art practice, which is deeply rooted in local traditions. His design sensibilities, shaped by indigenous forms and aesthetics, resonate with visual and material cultures enriched by complex intercultural historiography. His doctoral research, “Mapping the creativity discourse in Indian education policies for Design” (2025), reflects this inclination and provides a comprehensive critical discourse analysis of the ‘notion of creativity’ in Indian education policies, examining its nature and relationship to design, and exploring how policy frameworks influence creative agency and learning. His pedagogical expertise encompasses a wide range of areas, from foundational studies in art and design to professional design practices. This includes drawing, images, illustrations, various forms of communication design, design for handmade ecologies, design for special needs, design for public spaces, and the design and analysis of public/social policies and frameworks. This extensive knowledge base reflects his diverse roles as an artist, designer, pedagogue, educational scholar, and policy scientist.

He has exhibited his art and design works widely and contributed to numerous national and international academic conferences, journals, and design fairs. Through these platforms, he has critically engaged with issues related to creativity and holistic education. As a recipient of numerous accolades, grants, and commissions, he has contributed to projects in the public and private sectors. Since 2006, he has been a life member of the Lalit Kala Akademi, India, after his debut in the National Exhibition of Art. Currently, he serves as an Associate Professor overseeing the Communication Design discipline at the IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay, where he supervises design and research projects involving interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary practice. He is a passionate teacher who is keen to understand how individuals perceive, reason, and reflect. With versatile experience and unique expertise, he strives to cultivate creative and innovative mindsets and seeks ways to encourage them within an institutional framework.

Mobile: +91 9480378433, [email protected], http://www.idc.iitb.ac.in/people/faculty/mascarenhas-arun

Employment

  • IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay Assistant Professor
    2018 - Present

Education

  • Indian Institute of Management Mumbai NLD (UBP)
    2024 - 2024
  • Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Doctor of Philosophy
    2021 - 2026

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (16)