I am Nikheel Aphale (1979), born and raised in Mumbai, India, a historically and culturally rich country with striking diversity in nature, art, music, food,​ languages,​ etc. I have been practicing calligraphy for the past 15 years; though I am predominantly focusing on the Devanagri script.
 

I am currently based out of Bangalore, south India. I also have a graphic design practice called Studio Em & En with my wife Maithili. You can get in touch with me at anikheel@gmail.com.

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Education:

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• Undergraduate degree in Applied Arts (Bachelor in Fine Arts), L S Raheja School of Arts, Mumbai, 1995-2000

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• Post-graduate diploma in Visual Communication; specialization in Graphic Design, National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, 2003-06

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• One-week residential course on advance calligraphy by master calligraphy Brody Neuenschwander, Brugge, Belgium, 2015

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Exhibitions:
 

• Me, You and the World, group show, Artisera, 2020

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• Sacred Strokes, solo show, Artisera, 2020

 

• 16th Cheongju Jikji World Calligraphy Exhibition, South Korea, 2019, 2021.

 

• Auroville Art Residency, Auroville, India, 2019

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• The World Calligraphy Biennale, Jeollabuk – South Korea, 2015, 2017, and 2019

 

• Zones of Privacy, books, sketchbooks as a work of art, Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai, India, 2016
 

• Fibre Fables, collaborative art show between eleven artists and the weavers of Raj Group, Panipat, The Stainless Gallery, Delhi, India, 2015

 

• Calligraphy tells the beauty, an exhibition of calligraphy works by Korean and Indian artists, Korean Cultural Centre, Delhi, India, 2014
 

• One Asia Project III, Taipei, Taiwan, 2014
 

• One Asia Project II, international calligraphy exhibition, India International Center (IIC), Delhi, 2012
 

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Features and accolades:

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• Typism 7 & 8

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• A speaker at TEDx Shiv Nadar University, 2017

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• Prestigious blue elephant at Kyoorius Design Award for ‘Harper Perennial Series’ under ‘Design for Books’ category, 2018

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• Annual juried issues of prestigious & internationally acclaimed calligraphy magazine, Letter Arts Review, USA, 2010, 2011 & 2016

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• Shortlisted to exhibit for ‘20 Under 35’—where the work of 20 emerging designers was showcased at the DesignXDesign event at the Alliance Francaise, Delhi.

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• Gold Award for outstanding work in Calligraphy (Callihunt 2016); organized by Achyut Palav School of Calligraphy.

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• Work, interviews have been featured in Vogue, Platform, NDTV (TV Channel), Kyoorius, POOL, Desi Creative, and many blogs, and websites.

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Workshops and teaching:

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• Srishti school of art and design, Bangalore
• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bangalore, Panchkula
• Strate School of Design, Bangalore
• Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana
• SASI Creative Institute of Design, Coimbatore
• The Valley School, Bangalore
• Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA)

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• Kalakshar (design festival), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi

• Ka Cha Ta Tha Pa (calligraphy festival), Kerala
 

• AccionLabs, India
• Frog Design, India
• Philips Design, India