As the design world continues its search for authenticity, material intelligence and cultural depth, a growing number of designers are looking beyond the studio and towards craft traditions that have evolved over centuries. Few initiatives embody this shift more clearly than the Shakti Design Residency, which has just announced its global call for entries for its third edition.

Founded by interior designer and philanthropist Shalini Misra, the residency invites established designers working in collectible and limited-edition design to spend a month in India, immersed in some of the country’s most remarkable craft ecosystems. Rather than treating artisans as executors of a designer’s vision, the programme proposes something more radical: collaboration between equals.

Selected participants are paired with leading Indian ateliers for a period of research, experimentation and making. The objective is not to apply traditional techniques to contemporary forms, but to create entirely new work through a genuine exchange of knowledge, process and material understanding.

This year’s jury reflects the increasingly global conversation around design and cultural production. It includes curator and writer Aric Chen, Lebanese designer Nada Debs, collector and gallerist Rodman Primack, architect and designer Suchi Reddy and craft advocate Karishma Swali.

Together, they represent a broad spectrum of disciplines, from architecture and interiors to collecting, curation and textile innovation. Yet what unites them is a shared belief that design’s future lies not in novelty alone, but in deeper forms of exchange.

That idea feels particularly relevant today. Across the international design scene, craft is no longer viewed as a nostalgic reference point or a source of decorative motifs. Instead, it has become a vehicle for addressing questions of sustainability, cultural continuity and material experimentation. Designers are increasingly seeking relationships with makers that allow knowledge to flow in both directions.

The Shakti Design Residency has emerged as one of the few programmes dedicated entirely to facilitating that dialogue. Previous participants have included designers from Europe, Asia and North America, while collaborating ateliers have ranged from textile specialists and rug makers to studios working with wood, metal and traditional Indian crafts.

For the six designers selected this year, the residency offers more than a temporary studio. It offers entry into a cultural ecosystem where making remains deeply embedded in local knowledge, community and heritage. The resulting works are intended not only for exhibition and acquisition, but also as evidence of what can happen when contemporary design engages seriously with craft traditions rather than merely borrowing from them.

The residency offers a timely reminder that innovation does not always begin with invention. Sometimes, it begins with listening: to materials, to makers, and to centuries of accumulated knowledge. In doing so, Shakti proposes a model for design that is less about authorship and more about exchange.

The residency is open to professional designers from anywhere in the world, working in any material.

Requirements include:

• A coherent body of work demonstrating a developed practice and a clear design philosophy
• Genuine intellectual curiosity about Indian craft and a clear intent to develop new work through atelier collaboration, not to translate an existing aesthetic into a new material context
• Readiness to engage with the residency as sustained exchange and to contribute to work intended for international exhibition and acquisition

The 2026 jury will select the cohort following the close of applications. Selected designers will be paired with their atelier by the Shakti curatorial team.