Program Description
Event Details
Book Launch and Discussion
This presentation explores the first program of design education for traditional artisans. The author, founder and director emerita of the program, and two graduate artisans who will be in the USA on a month-long book tour will discuss tradition, innovation, the contemporary market and the impact of design education.
Artisans by Design: An Odyssey of Education for Artisans in India
A firsthand account of the development of Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya—the first design school for traditional artisans in India—and its evolution to present-day Somaiya Kala Vidya, with personal stories of its students, their work and the school's effect on their lives and India's cultural and economic development.
Somaiya Kala Vidya was conceived as a place where textile artisans in the Kutch District—a rugged arid region of western India known for its rich craft traditions—could learn design, business, and management in hands-on ways that strengthened their traditional knowledge, explore ecological methods of creating, and discover ways to connect to contemporary markets while sustaining their cultural heritage. Artisans by Design presents intimate stories of more than 20 artisans (intertwined with the author's story), detailing how their education brought them personal fulfillment, increased social and economic status, and an understanding of sustainability.
Judy Frater traveled to India at age 19 to improve her batik techniques. On a trip to Kutch, she discovered embroidery and diverted to exploring the mystery of austere women creating raucous colourful tableaus. She went on to do Masters Degrees in Anthropology at the University of Minnesota and Museum Studies at the University of Washington, and continued research on traditional textiles of Kutch for over 30 years. She authored the award-winning book Threads of Identity, and chapters in several other books. Learn more about the author at textileslive.com