Mia Wright-Ross

Mia Wright-Ross

Future|Money Awardee, - Loose Change (Chains)

Mia Wright-Ross is a leather artisan who focuses her works in sculptural installations and object design. The leather cording techniques that appear as a signature motif across her luxury design house, MWR Collection, represent Wright-Ross’ art & design philosophy— material as connector of human emotions and the hand as the ultimate tool of dexterous design. Wright-Ross developed this philosophy to revive the importance of the artisan as healer; to educate future designers and audiences about the valuable narrative in craft language that is cultivated with the human hands; and exemplify the emotional, spiritual, structural, and ancestral connections between craft practitioners. Wright-Ross is currently exploring new iterations of leatherwork, including large scale tapestries and lighting installations. She has worked in the Footwear & Accessory Industry for over 12 years and been a leading designer for several contemporary designer brands. Brands including Calvin Klein, 3.1 Phillip Lim, and Tibi. She worked as the Senior Footwear & Accessories Designer, where she oversaw all design & development in Italy, Brazil, and China. In 2020, Wright-Ross became the Artist Fellow at the Musuem of Art & Design in New York City. There, she began to exploring new interactions of her work within ancestral and systemic structures in the African Ameri-Indian community. Currently, she is an Adjunct Professor of Footwear Design at Parsons The New School of Design, Carnegie Hall’s NeON Arts 2023 grantee, and maintains her Art & Design Atelier in New York City.