SPACE/V&A Research Institute (VARI) residency artist 2016: Paraa

Paraa is an architectural studio based in Bangladesh which focuses on enhancing spaces for communities through interdisciplinary practice. In collaboration with VARI – V&A East and SPACE, Paraa proposes to explore local cultures through a structured series of collaborative workshops and presentations, engaging and working with neighbourhoods within close proximity of the new museum. Using participatory design and planning methods to develop the idea and the potential for the museum to become a sense of place for these neighbourhoods. The team in residence with the V&A and SPACE Studios at the White Building includes Abbas Nokhasteh, Kazi Arefin and Ruhul Abdin.

Paraa will investigate the potential of the evolving sphere of cultural production and presentations through community-led or community-driven ideas. Paraa aims to enable the develop a fruitful dialogue between cultural institutions and their surrounding communities, and at the same time, look towards the wider vision that embodies the values instilled within the fabric of the new V&A East.