About Sumanth Ram
Sumanth Ram is a University Gold Medalist and the visionary founder of The Sumanth Collective, a multidisciplinary design practice that blurs the boundaries between architecture, heritage, public art, and social responsibility. Based in Madurai, his work is deeply rooted in cultural narrative and material expression.
As the Managing Director of MARP India and UK, Sumanth is a globally recognized designer, manufacturer, and exporter of granite tombstones and natural stone artifacts. His pieces can be found across continents—from solemn memorials commemorating the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand to iconic landmarks like Wimbledon in the UK.
A disciple of the Geoffrey Bawa school of thought, Sumanth trained under Sri Lankan master architect Anjalendran and was shaped early on by the creative influence of Laki Senanayake. His practice reflects a reverence for place, memory, and the poetics of design.
Sumanth was one of the seven founding core team members of Art Mumbai, the city’s first international art fair. As Production Manager and Creative Head, he helped build the fair alongside leaders such as Dinesh and Minal Vazirani, Conor Macklin, Nakul Dev Chawla, Teesta Bhandare, and Rhea Kuruvilla.
His early involvement with Earth Celebrations led to the creation of the Vaigai River Pageant in Madurai, in collaboration with activist Felicia Young—a landmark public art initiative that continues to inspire his civic and ecological design efforts. His redesign proposal for the Albert Victor Bridge received the All India Citation Award at the 2016 NASA Architecture Conference.
Sumanth is also the founder of the Sriram Memorial Art Foundation, created in memory of his late father to support and uplift the arts in Madurai—a city where he grew up with limited exposure to art or museums. His home and studio, The Palimpsest House, functions as a living, evolving cultural space: a site for creation, curation, and collaboration. Through the foundation, Sumanth has hosted groundbreaking programs and partnerships, bringing never-before-seen artistic experiences to the city and opening up possibilities for future generations.
A former child actor featured in national campaigns for Gold Winner and Joyalukkas, Sumanth remains deeply connected to theatre, music, and dance, infusing his design practice with creative instinct and performative insight.
He also serves on the Board of Relief Projects India (RPI), contributing actively to Mountain View School and broader educational outreach as part of his commitment to giving back.
From stone to stage, civic design to cultural revival, Sumanth Ram’s work is a rare fusion of architecture, empathy, and artistic vision—transforming spaces and communities with care, context, and imagination.