Kaanchi Chopra (b. 1999, India) is an artist and biodesigner tracing the emotional, ecological, and material potential of plant matter. Guided by research into native flora, circular design systems, and urban forest inequity, Chopra’s practice seeks to reintroduce nature into people’s daily lives through objects, textiles and installations.
Rooted in rituals of care, curiosity, and a commitment to climate justice, her practice flows between botanical preservation and material innovation. Through her social enterprise Kohinoori, she collaborates with farmers and street vendors across Northern India to transform agricultural waste into biomaterials such as paper packaging and biochar that replace single-use plastics and reduce stubble burning. Over the past two years, she has foraged, pressed, and archived more than 120 plant species. Having grown up with limited access to green spaces and carrying a deep sense of ecological grief, she seeks to make environmentalism tactile, joyful, and accessible rather than doom-laden.
Chopra graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2021 with a BFA in Industrial Design and a minor in Nature, Culture and Sustainability Studies. She is currently an artist-in-residence at Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte in Italy. Her work has been exhibited internationally at the RISD Museum and Brown University in Rhode Island, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, Lincoln Center, Ki Smith Gallery and Gül Gallery in New York, and No Vacancy Gallery in Melbourne. A TEDx speaker, she is also a recipient of the We Are Family Foundation’s Creatives Fund, the One Club COLORFUL Grant, and the Maharam Fellowship. Previously, she led design at Remake, a global advocacy organization working at the intersection of human rights and climate justice in the fashion industry.
For commissions and queries, contact - kaanchichopra@gmail.com
Solo Exhibition
2026 Upcoming: Jaipur Art Week, India
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 Do No Harm: Reflections on Healthcare, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2025 Flowers and Friends, Gül Gallery, New York, USA
2024 Consume Conform Collapse, Ki Smith Gallery, New York, USA
2023 Braiding Sabatia, UN Climate Change Conference COP 28, Dubai
2021 Unravel: An Anti-Exhibition, RISD Museum, Providence, USA
2021 Kalimaa, Chai Tea Latte at Gelman Gallery, RISD, Providence, USA
2021 Steamrave at Brown University, Providence, USA
2020 End Acid Attacks at Granoff Center, Brown University, Providence, USA
2019 Asakusa Ukiyo-e Prints at RISD Museum, Providence, USA
2018 Art for Social Change, RISD President’s House with Roxane Gay, Providence, USA
2016 End Acid Attacks with Priya’s Shakti, Lincoln Center, New York, USA
Residencies
2025 INLAKS Research Residency, Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte, Biella, Italy
Selected Talks & Awards
2025 Panelist, India Art Fair, Delhi Contemporary Art Week, India
2024 Grant Winner, Youth to the Front Fund, We are Family Foundation, UK
2024 Winner, COLORFUL, The One Club for Creativity, USA
2022 Speaker, Better World by Design, at Brown University, USA
2021 Steven Mendelson Community Service Award, RISD, USA
2021 Rachel Carson Environmental Award, RISD, USA
2021 Maharam Fellowship, RISD, USA
2020 Finalist, Biodesign Challenge, New York, USA
2017 TEDx Speaker: Artivism, Noida, India
Selected Press
Design Pataki, Homegrown, RISD News, ABC, Buzzfeed, Hindustan Times
Selected Clients
Adobe, Microsoft Research, United Nations FAO, Hypebeast, Remake, The Sunrise Project, Intersectional Environmentalist, Feminist, AWAJ Foundation