Craft and Community in Kachchh_Threads.pdf

2019

Often learnt and mastered over generations, craftsmen and women still use their traditional knowledge systems, customs and practices in the production of regional handicrafts. The Kashmiri naqash is responsible for design development and is an essential bearer of the craft and cultural heritage produced in the Kashmir valley. Kashmir produces distinct floor coverings, one of the largest employment sectors in the region, each adopting indigenous methods of design development, communication and transmission. Hand knotted carpets use a coded syntax in the form of a taleem, the felted namdas use tracing sheets or blocks while the wagoo grass mat uses the method of oral transmission and demonstration. To explore these three craft practices, artisans were visited at different locations in Srinagar. The aim of the study was to examine the linkages between the Kashmiri naqash communities engaged in the production of floor coverings, their indigenous craft practices and the resultant material culture in an attempt to establish them as bearers of cultural heritage that forms the core of artistic practices. Using cultural studies theory, an ethnographic approach was adopted which, involved both direct observation of the production of these traditional crafts as well as semi-structured open-ended interviews with the artisans. The key themes emerging from the analysis have been discussed in light of their significance within the unique socio-cultural setup of Kashmir along with recommendations for future research.

TEXTILE, 2021

TEXTILE, 2021

Anuradha Chatterjee (Guest Editor) (2020): Call for Papers, Special Issue: Life, after Life: Textile Crafts in India and Communities of Practice, TEXTILE, DOI: 10.1080/14759756.2020.1814552

Granthaalayah Publications and Printers, 2023

Traditional textiles in India have been a reflection of its rich cultural heritage for ages. In today's global world, these products have been extensively commercialized to the extent of losing their authenticity. The artisan communities need to be abreast with current market trends in order to create a demand for their products. The empowerment of the craft ecosystem demands sincere efforts on the part of craft practitioners to facilitate product diversification and wider market reach. However, artisanal products need to be put at the forefront of any design intervention without losing the essence of the original craft. Himachal Pradesh is not only rich in biodiversity but also in various crafts like metal, weaving, knitting, and painting. In this paper, an effort has been made to catalog the products of traditional Kullu Handloom weaving with the raw materials used, the process followed, motifs and colour palette etc. Moreover, initiatives taken by Ms. Anshul Malhotra, a well-known craft entrepreneur in Himachal Pradesh for popularizing the traditional woven designs of the Kullu and Kinnaur region in India and abroad have been reported. Design interventions made by combining new colors and exploring different combinations of yarns and weaves by Ms Anshul Malhotra would serve as a guiding source for the design and artisan communities alike.

Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal

This article presents a fieldwork collaboration between contemporary art, “traditional” craft, and ethnographic research in which community engagement plays a key role. Two decades after the abandonment of weaving in a depopulated mountainous village of Crete, Greece, a group of researchers invite an artist to turn the village’s old school into a weaving studio. Aiming at the active participation of the local community in weaving heritage interpretation, and the interdisciplinary collaboration of art and anthropology, the weaving studio experience provides a fertile ground for discussing the relationships between disciplines, the difficulties of crossing the boundaries of these disciplines and the challenges of community participation in managing knowledge production. Here we discuss our experience working with an artist in a project between art and research, including various observations, different approaches, and challenges.

2017

The article engages with debates on the contemporary practice of ‘traditional’ regional Indian crafts and the disciplinary position of craft at a time when the roles traditionally assigned to academia, patrons (industry and craft non-governmental organizations [NGOs]) and craftspeople are in flux. The author takes the reader through a self-reflexive journey of unlearning based on her experiences as project researcher on an initiative to document traditional crafts in and around the Hampi World Heritage site. What began as an ‘objective’ attempt to present a comprehensive field-based project to document the living craft traditions of a region transformed into a discussion on the politics of research. The example of the Hampi project made it clear to the author that knowledge production is dialogic. ‘Field’, ‘place’ and ‘community’, whether project committee, general public or craftspeople (so-called objects of enquiry), can and do influence the parameters of research design. And this understanding leads to an acceptance on her part that, in turn, ‘researchers’ can only impact the field in a limited way. Consequently, a more useful role for herself and other communities, including craft NGOs, might be that of giving voice to the voiceless, in this instance, craftspeople. More significantly that the views and concerns of craftspeople do matter irrespective of whether they are in accord with the views of individuals, groups or communities that seek to support them, whether craft industry, patrons or researchers.

Craft Design Enquiry, 2011

Sharmila Wood has worked in the creative and cultural industries in India, the USA, and Australia. She is currently working as a consultant in New Delhi. She recently wrote and edited Co-Creating: Designer meets Artisan for UNESCO and Craft Revival Trust. Prior to her time in India, she managed an Aboriginal Art Centre in Western Australia. Sharmila holds a Master of Art History & Curatorship with Merit from the University of Sydney. She has been published in The Australian newspaper, and DRONAH, the Context Journal, India.

This paper discusses fashion's relationship with traditional craft in India, focusing on the handloom industry in Maheshwar, a small town in Madhya Pradesh state. The organisation Women Weave, founded by Sally Holkar in 2003, has moved away from the silk, cotton and zari (metallic yarn) fabrics and saris that Maheshwar is known for, and is producing its own form of khadi (hand-spun, hand-woven yarn), popular in high-end Indian and global fashion. A recent initiative of Women Weave is The Handloom School (THS), which teaches weavers from different parts of India business, design IT and communication skills with a view to enabling them to connect directly with a high-end luxury market. The school is in its early stages and the curriculum is continuously being revised and adapted. My recent ethnographic fieldwork in Maheshwar and other weaving regions in India has involved learning about the experiences of some of the students and graduates of THS over the past three years. This paper will draw upon these experiences, while presenting some of the challenges the school is facing amidst a broad and lively debate on craft in India within the development, anthropological, design history and material culture discourses.

Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal, 2019

This article presents a fieldwork collaboration between contemporary art, “traditional” craft, and ethnographic research in which community engagement plays a key role. Two decades after the abandonment of weaving in a depopulated mountainous village of Crete, Greece, a group of researchers invite an artist to turn the village's old school into a weaving studio. Aiming at the active participation of the local community in weaving heritage interpretation, and the interdisciplinary collaboration of art and anthropology, the weaving studio experience provides a fertile ground for discussing the relationships between disciplines, the difficulties of crossing the boundaries of these disciplines, and the challenges of community participation in managing knowledge production. Here we discuss our experience working with an artist in a project between art and research, including various observations, different approaches, and challenges.

Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and Middle East, 2019

Abstract Handloom weaving in India is a vibrant and dynamic craft-based technology that is more than two thousand years old. It is the second-largest provider of rural livelihoods, with a 10 percent share of the domestic textile market, unified under the cultural brand of “handloom.” Yet weavers, like other craftspeople in India, stand in the shadow of deep divisions: rich/poor, urban/rural, modern/traditional, Brahmin/Dalit, educated scientist/illiterate laborer. As a system of knowledge, handloom weaving is associated with a museumized past rather than a promising future; the weaver is seen as a laboring body rather than an innovative mind. Yet through theorizing handloom weaving as sociotechnology, this essay endeavors to explicate the sustainability and innovation in handloom weaving. Studying examples of innovation in handloom weavers, the essay explores craft livelihoods as offering the opportunity for political action: as a unifying device for cultural cohesion, as embodied knowledge that engages both mind and body, and as a tool for justice and equity.