Take a journey into folk, tribal and cultural performances, learn new skills and acquire knowledge – all this sitting at your home.
The New Delhi-based Craft Village, a member organisation of World Craft Council – Asia Pacific Region, is back with the third edition of its annual India Craft Week (ICW) 2020. And like all events organised during the pandemic, the Crafts Week in association with British Council, is going digital.
Titled Good Stories Untold – From Your Home, the three-day event beginning today (May 1) will tell you stories of crafts-persons. Striving towards ‘One World, One Craft’, the holding of the week will encourage millions of crafts-people in quarantine like everyone else.
“Covid-19 has affected all sectors globally. Being from the crafts sector, it is our responsibility to try to sustain it to the best of our abilities,” says Iti Tyagi, Founder, Crafts Village & India Craft Week.
“With the idea we must continue to nourish the minds of people, brands, craftsmen, designers as also organisations and institutions involved with crafts, our team at India Craft Week has curated this Global-Digital Preview that you can participate being at home,” she adds. More than 70 brands, artisans and artists are participating in the event.
The digital preview will be inaugurated by Dinesh Patnaik, Director General, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Govt of India. Sharing their views on the platform are World Craft Council-APR, (Kuwait) President Ghada H. Qaddumi, British Council (India) Director Dr Barbara Wickham OBE, NID’s former director Dr. Darlie Koshy, Arttdinox MD Deepikka Jindal, Manish Saksena from Aadyam Handwoven, Sundeep Kumar from Craft Beton, Fashion Designers Anju Modi and Rina Dhaka and crafts revivalist Jaya Jaitley.
“We are committed to promote craft and design. Our crafting futures programme supports crafts and livelihoods, and gives global exposure to local artisans. The capacity development for resilience, improving economic opportunity for survival and bettering the livelihoods of Indian craftspeople, especially women, is more important than ever during this hugely challenging and uncertain time we are living in,” says Jonathan Kennedy, Director, Arts India, British Council.
“The need of the hour is to save the indigenous skills by supporting local produce, as well as culture and heritage so that it can be passed on to the future generations. This edition is aimed at building a greater connection with ‘people’s power’ to timeless craft & creativity,” adds Tyagi. Agrees Dr Qaddumi, “The pandemic has affected the livelihoods of millions of artisans. Holding such events is one way to prevent the craft sector from a collapse.”