The newly opened The Kunj in Vasant Kunj has been quietly reshaping how Delhi engages with craft and heritage. This week, the space hosts Handicrafts and Heritage Week, curated by Haath Ka Bana, a social enterprise committed to reviving and sustaining India’s fading folk art traditions.
Envisioned as an immersive art festival, the week-long programme foregrounds India’s handmade legacy through live demonstrations, workshops, and close interactions with master craftspersons from across the country. “Through Handicrafts and Heritage Week, Haath Ka Bana seeks to reinforce the idea that India’s handmade traditions are not relics of the past, but living, evolving knowledge systems,” says Prashant Singh, founder of the enterprise.
He adds that the festival positions craft as a vital pillar of the economy—one where artisans are custodians of centuries of design intelligence, ecological knowledge, and cultural memory.
The festival brings together a compelling range of artists and practices. Among them is Bengal Pattachitra artist Rupban Chitrakar from Naya village in Pingla, West Bengal, home to Patua families who have sustained the tradition of scroll-painting storytelling for generations. Also featured is Gond artist Choti Tekam from Madhya Pradesh, whose works reinterpret Gond cosmology through a contemporary visual lens, and mural artist Naveen Bhaskar from Kerala, known for intricate compositions rooted in temple architecture.
Beyond exhibitions, the festival places strong emphasis on participation. Visitors can take part in hands-on workshops on Gond art, Madhubani painting, and other traditional forms, learning directly from experienced practitioners. The intent, says co-founder Anugraha Mathur, is to foreground the human continuity behind every craft. “This led us to curate traditions with deep cultural roots such as Bengal and Odisha Pattachitra, Sujani, and Aipan,” Mathur notes. “We were also keen to spotlight crafts that are endangered or at risk of dilution, including Chamba Rumal, Sanjhi, and Sohrai.”
At a time when craft is often reduced to surface aesthetics, Handicrafts and Heritage Week offers something more enduring—a reminder that these practices are living archives, adaptive and resilient, deeply embedded in India’s cultural and economic fabric. “True empowerment begins when artisans gain sustained visibility, respect, and dignity within the market ecosystem,” Singh notes. “Consistent events like Heritage Week create long-term value by opening new networks—connecting artisans with designers, institutions, and collaborators—while also building confidence and cultural pride.”
At The Kunj, Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj, till December 14, from 11 am to 8 pm