Nandini Rawal
PhD Student
Art History
Biography
Nandini Rawal is a PhD student in the Department of Art History whose research focuses on artisanship, traditional art and craft practices, and material culture in South Asia. She holds master’s degrees in South Asian Studies and Religion from Columbia University. Her work with artisan communities in India shaped her interest in how artistic traditions are sustained and transformed over time. She is particularly interested in the transmission of artisanal skills and knowledge, and in how faith, patronage, and changing markets shape the lives of artisans as well as the meanings and functions of the objects they create.
| Previous Institution(s) | |
| M.A. Religion, Columbia University, 2026; M.A. South Asian Studies, Columbia University, 2020; B.Tech. (Hons.) CEPT University, 2016 |
| Areas of Research Interest beyond South Asia | |
| Cultural Anthropology, Ethnography, Cross-Cultural Exchange, Diaspora Studies, Visual and Material Culture, South Asian Films and Popular Culture. |