Working Together workshop in Bangalore, 10 May 2016

Working Together: Equitable and Effective Cooperation between Artisans and Designers Tuesday 10 May 2016, 9am-6pm Location: GoCoop CA Site No:1, GINSERV Building Behind Leela Palace Kodihalli, Bengaluru Karnataka 56008 Effective Partnerships between artisans and designers are required to sustain and take the craft sector ahead. The purpose of this workshop is to explore these partnership … Continue reading Working Together workshop in Bangalore, 10 May 2016

Living Blue: Cultures-Based Innovations in Natural Dyeing and Sustainability Symposium

Dori Tunstall at Swinburne University is coordinating an indigenous cultural exchange involving natural dyes. The day-long seminar is a chance to learn about what happened and where it is going.

Priya Ravish Mehra makes art inspired by rafoogars

Priya Ravish Mehra is an influential figure in the Indian craft scene. For many years she has worked with traditional darners – ‘rafoogars’ – from her home town of Najibabad. In 2006, she brought out two rafoogars to Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games cultural festival, where they were the subject of great fascination as experts … Continue reading Priya Ravish Mehra makes art inspired by rafoogars

Batik design partnerships in Indonesia

As a craft, batik seems quintessentially Indonesian. After a dispute with Malaysia about its origin, UNESCO in 2009 officially recognised batik as part of Indonesia’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. To celebrate, President Yudhoyono declared 2 October to be batik day, and called on all Indonesians to wear their national costume with pride every Friday. This proved … Continue reading Batik design partnerships in Indonesia

Handloom crisis: A background note

The handloom sector is facing a new crisis, even more serious than issues of competition, marketing, technology, livelihood and quality of life that have inhibited Indian weavers for decades from access to the unlimited opportunities that are possible today. The latest crisis could eliminate India’s rich handloom advantage forever. The crisis became evident suddenly, ostensibly … Continue reading Handloom crisis: A background note

Journey Leads to New Platform

Samaanata was the culmination of a three year journey between Australia and India. Sangam: Australia India Design Platform involved an extended series of roundtables, workshops, forums and surveys examining the interests and relationships of producers, developers and consumers. The goal has been to encourage a growth in design exchange between Australia and India by identifying … Continue reading Journey Leads to New Platform

When an Indian designer comes to Australia…

The recent ‘Through Indian Eyes’ hypothetical forum at the Powerhouse Museum reveal some surprising common ground between traditional craft in India and modern life in Australia. An Indian comes to Australia to revive a craft skill that had been outmoded by technological change… Wait a minute, shouldn’t it be the other way around? The ‘Through … Continue reading When an Indian designer comes to Australia…

Make it New Again starts in Ahmedabad on 22 November

Make It New Again: Models for Innovation in Traditional Craft 22-24 November 2012 National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India Craft is a form of production that uplifts communities, tells stories that connect people together, and fills our world with beauty. India is a treasury of the world’s craft traditions, clothing, sheltering, feeding and adorning people … Continue reading Make it New Again starts in Ahmedabad on 22 November

Happy Hands opens a new door for craft in the city

Medhavi Gandhi from the foundation Happy Hands talks about the need to develop creative potential among craftspersons, particularly to connect to new urban markets. What made you interested in craft? At first, I did not even know how many types of crafts or arts our country could boast of – but as an intern for … Continue reading Happy Hands opens a new door for craft in the city

Packaging Bollywood for Downunder–The Zaishu story

In February 2006 I flew to India from Australia with camera man Mike Crowhurst, production manager Shalu Sood and my father Ken Butler to embark on a one month community art / design project that I had dreamt up the year before. My task was to see if it was possible to generate employment for … Continue reading Packaging Bollywood for Downunder–The Zaishu story