The Asian Heritage Foundation (AHF), a non government organisation, concerned with cultures, traditions, public affairs, arts and sciences of the Asian region, recently celebrated the 7th anniversary of its flagship project Jiyo.
Aimed at creating new livelihoods in cultural industries among the skilled but economically vulnerable communities of India, Jiyo’s seventh birthday was made special with the launch of Degine Degine –– a trans-disciplinary platform for young and contemporary creatives to explore new possibilities towards design-led interventions for the traditional skills.
The objective of this initiative is to source new talent and provide them interface with traditional designers while enabling the common man to understand the concept of design.
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The celebrations was jointly inaugurated by Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister of Women and Child Development and scholar Dr. Kapila Vatsayan followed by “Show & Tell”, which featured brief presentations by designers with diverse specialisations setting the tone for discussion .
Addressing the audience, noted designer Rajat Jain discussed how the coming together of local artisans and international design students helped in incorporating modern look to the creations thereby making them attractive. Highlighting the benefits of such an interaction he stated it will help in employment generation in rural areas especially among women while stemming the flow of people from rural to urban areas in search of employment. “I was amazed at the way artisans and students exchanged ideas, views and designs despite absence of a common language.”
The students of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad were up next discussing their project “Creative Prisons Industries” wherein workshops for inmates were held to take them through the complete journey of product design –– from conception to creating them. According to the students contrary to what their belief, the inmates were sensitive, skilled and adept in drawing and sketching. “Instead of us trying to befriend, they took the first initiative to break the ice,” commented Surya Teja. Some of the wares made by them like towels, durries and bags –– simple yet elegant –– were passed around. “Our aim is to make the society aware that about prisoners’ reformation and provide them employment opportunities on release, to help them join the mainstream,” averred Surya.
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Having seen the products of sikki grass artisans from Raiyam, the audience immediately got attentive when artist Valay Gada, came up to share his experiences with them. Utilitarian and ornamental, the products shown on the screen included lamp shades, baskets and table top accessories in different shapes, colours and designs including that of animals and birds. With the introduction to contemporary wares and patterns, these craftsmen now make coasters, hand-held fans, bowls and boxes which are not just decorative but useful too.
Other speakers included designer Neena Rana who spoke about reviving phulkari by reinventing the art to create designs that are both traditional and accessible and Ankon Mitra, architect, who delved on combining origami with the traditional art of leather-puppet making to explore new realism in creative product design. Aroop Ratan Guha discussed about intervention of design and colour in public spaces in order to inculcate a sense of responsibility towards them.
The brief presentations were interesting as was evident by the numerous questions the audience asked. After being treated to samples of tribal food from the Chhotanagpur area, many stayed back to go around the AHF premises where several live workshops and performances were in progress. These included shadow puppeteers from Nimalakuntha, Jabuat bead makers from Madhya Pradesh, Mithila painters from Madhubani, Dhokra artisans and Chhau folk dancers from Mayurbhanj, Ikkat weavers from Pochampalli, Nagpuri musicians from Jharkhand and drum makers from Gumla among several others.