kiran p. gill (he/they/she) is a malaysian-canadian textile artist and student of craft and labour history based in brampton, ontario. he was born in subang jaya, malaysia to an irish-canadian mother and punjabi sikh father.

his artistic practice centres pre-industrial, land-based textile traditions within the scope of natural dyeing, weaving, yarn spinning, and needlework. with his work, he seeks to reconsider the material cultures of his ancestors within new contexts, combining eastern and western traditions, and finding common ground through themes of spirituality, lineage, grief, and diaspora.

kiran also studies the transformation of craft and textile labour relationships through the rise of western imperialism and global capitalism, as well as the historic and ongoing relationship between textile production and the exploitation of the international working class and the environment.

given his complex background, travel and cross-cultural knowledge sharing are important parts of his practice. in may of 2022 he was an artist in residence at the icelandic textile center in blönduós, iceland, and in spring of 2023 will be in residence at rimbun dahan in his home state of selangor, malaysia.

kiran is currently working on his bachelor of fine art in material art and design (textiles) at ocad university and the master spinner certificate program with ontario handweavers and spinners (ohs) and the haliburton school of art and design. he also volunteers with the textile museum of canada and teaches private and group workshops in textile craft.