An Institute of Education for Traditional Artisans
Somaiya Kala Vidya E-News May 2016
Somaiya Kala Vidya is an institution for traditional artisans of Kutch, India. Combining over fifty years' experience of
Somaiya Vidyavihar with eight years of design education for artisans, it offers sustained, coherent programs in design and
business to provide effective, relevant and practical education. SKV honors and incorporates existing traditions. Its
advisors are Master Artisans. Its faculty includes national and international educators. SKV outreach offers workshops to
the world and courses in craft traditions taught by artisan designers. Artisan-to-Artisan programs demonstrate the
importance of education for artisans, and generate awareness and motivation to build a movement of Design Craft.
EDUCATION FOR ARTISANS
DESIGN FOR ARTISANS COURSE 2016
The Design class of 2016 began just one week following the SKV convocation. Eleven talented and eager traditional
weavers, ajrakh printers and bandhani artisans had been selected by the SKV Advisors in November 2015, and attended
an orientation in December. The artisans arrived with enthusiasm. The first course, Colour: Sourcing from Heritage
and Nature, was taught from 16-28 January by veteran visiting faculty Bishakha Shome. The students learned colour
theory with practical application. They looked at their traditions with our Master Artisan advisors. As the years pass,
traditions have lost relevance and young artisans have not seen many examples of their rich heritage. SKV encourages
them to use primary resources whenever possible, first and foremost masters in their own villages.
Izaz- "I had learned colour theory in school but here I learned to use it."
Juned- "I learned a new colour world, a new vision."
Bashir- "Now I know what colours mean. I could hear a colour and make it."
Dinesh- "It's not like school- more like home."
Muktar- "I never did homework in school- I got others to do it for me. Here I will do it."
Course 2016-2, Basic Design: Sourcing from Heritage and Nature, was taught from 15-27 February by Sucharita
Beniwal. The students learned to see pattern, symmetry, balance, movement, rhythm and more- in their traditional work
as well as the world around them. They observed in Mandvi. They applied what they learned in the SKV studio. When
the looms were set up, the Khatri dyers were the first to try them out. One wonderful aspect of the institute is the fluid,
harmonious relationships built among communities. These often foster fresh concepts and collaborations.
Muktar- "I've seen Vijay Vilas many times but my view changed."
Ramesh- "I learned I can use abstraction to get inspiration from nature."
Dinesh- "I liked the practical. We make the other motifs at home. I learned to make new motifs from nature."
Juned- "I can use these principles, which we already did, in new ways to make new things.
Course 2016-3, Market Orientation,
was taught from 11-22 March by
veteran faculty Shweta Dhariwal.
Shweta began with a discussion of
value vs. cost. In preparation for the
centerpiece field trip to Ahmedabad
the artisans cooked lunch. They costed
the dishes, created the ambianceincluding dining music! And served
the happy customers. Best of all, there was hardly any wastage- a step toward understanding sustainability.
In Ahmedabad, they visited a range of
shops as well as homes of craft
consumers. They learned to vary their
work in terms of market segments.
Experiencing the market brings a startling,
essential, perspective.
Bashir- "I learned to attend to details."
Fahd-" I learned to classify customers"
Izaz-" House of MG –old, in a new way."
Mubin-"Thinking about the customer gives confidence. I can make what they like."
Course 2016-4, Concept, Communication, Projects, was taught from 25 April7 May, by veteran faculty Lokesh Ghai.The students learned the importance of
stories. The studied trend forecasts, and learned to interpret concepts, first in
installations a la Andy Goldsworthy, then in theme boards, in music, and finally
in their own traditional media. They went on inspiration trips, brain stormed, and
went back to their traditions. Faculty and students grapple together with
concepts, seeing them from different perspectives and levels. Thinking deeply,
in new ways was a stretch. By the final presentation, the students had begun to
demonstrate individual interpretations.
Dayabhai-"I liked the inspiration trip. I saw many patterns and ways to use design."
Muktar-" I learned how to make traditional new, the importance of design."
Ramesh-" I learned your work has to communicate."
Suresh-"In inspiration, you add something of yourself, new."
BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT FOR
ARTISANS 2016
The first segment of this year's post-graduate
BMA course was a three-day workshop in
Concept Development, taught from 4-6
March, by Lokesh Ghai. Design graduates,
the students have each done a collection step
by step. In this course they have to each
develop a new collection in their own way, with the input of a mentor. LOkesh introduced the trend forecast for 2016-17,
and in three days each student selected a theme and a mentor, and made a theme board. They took inspiration trips,
including one post workshop to Dholavira.
BMA Course 2016-1, re-named post course to My Business/ Myself:Introduction to
Business Models, Principles of Management, and Market Exploration,was taught from
4-15 April by Abrarali Saiyed, PhD candidate from IIM Ahmedabad. Using case studies,
local and distant, practical applications on the streets of Gandhidham, and management
games, the students learned to examine business models, consider their current positionpersonal as well as professional- and their goals, and began to understand big vision
thinking. As the course progresses, each student will begin or develop his own business
plan, while they simultaneously plan and produce a group exhibition in Delhi in December.
Aslam-" Competition should bring up quality and value."
Purshottam- "I learned that you need to face fears, search for opportunities."
Talha- "I learned to take on the task with sincerity. We need to solve our own problems."
Rajesh- "My doubts about enhancing a business have all been cleared."
CO-DESIGN
Somaiya Kala Vidya promotes Co-Design, a
relatively unexplored method of working that
will be an important way to further our goal
of increasing the value of craft traditions. On
10 May, Founder Director Judy Frater and
Somaiya Kala Vidya Governing Council
Member Irfan Anwar Khatri participated in
"Working Together: Equitable and Effective
Cooperation between Artisans and Designers," a workshop, conducted by Dr. Kevin Murray (coordinator, Sangam
Project) at GoCoop in Bangalore. They presented SKVs experiences in developing a genuine co-design approach.
SKV WORKSHOPS- AND COURSES TO THE WORLD
In March, SKV conducted two workshops in craft traditions for visitors from the USA. Jessica Warner's group from
Boulder Colorado learned weaving, bandhani, and embroidery, while the Story of Travel group learned embroidery on
one day and weaving, printing and bandhani on the next. The workshops introduce participants to the thought as well as
skill that comprise tradition, and always make memorable experiences. Workshops can be arranged on demand. A 22day course in Craft Traditions is also planned from 1-22 November. For information contact [email protected].
OUTREACH
Somaiya Kala Vidya Artisan-to-Artisan outreach programs share the benefits of artisan education and begin to practically
scale the Design Craft movement. Artisan Designer graduates work with artisans in less exposed areas- as a sort of kickstart to demonstrate that innovation in traditions, and design education can be beneficial. The programs culminate in an
exhibition sale. Thus, all participants earn through sale of the products developed.
The pioneer Bhujodi to Bagalkot project
completed its second year with the third
course in our design program. From 28
March- 3 Aprilwe conducted Market
Orientation, taught by Shwetha Shettar in
Kannada language, assisted by Dayabhai in
Hindi. The weavers saw a range of sari
shops in Bangalore, from the famous sari
supermarkets, Vijaylaxmi and Nallis, to the
boutiques House of Tamara and Ants. They saw saris priced at RS 100,000, and held a trunk show at the Practice Room,
where they sold RS 33,000 of saris in two hours. When they came back to their village, they gleaned important feedback
for their work, and analyzed the segments of Bangalore. Their ideal market, they felt, was the boutique shop. They
designed saris for different consumers in half a day, and asked confident prices. Shwetha skillfully pointed out that over
all they have sold almost everything they have made, and the feedback of shops and individuals has been excellent and
very enthusiastic.
We then introduced a sustainable way to find
inspiration for colour palettes from the
environment. By now, all of the weavers
have smart phones- a direct impact of the
program! So off they went down the streets
of Kamatgi, delightedly photographing walls,
gardens, cooking in process-- and the weekly
market. They quickly chose favorite images
and extracted colours.
Look for Bhujodi to Bagalkot part 3 in Mumbai next September-- and the colours of Kamatgi!
DESIGN CRAFT
The Somaiya Agencies's innovative business to complement SKV's educational programs,
Design Craft,offers a juried selection of artisan designed and created textiles, bringing the best
in contemporary craft to one platform. It provides artisan designers with a great opportunity to
present their brands, under their own labels, and it will fund SKV's education for traditional
artisans with the profits from sales. Currently, 49 artisan designers are represented. You can find
them all using our Kutch Crafts map!
In the quest to insure continuous design development, SKV offered members a workshop in
trends and concept development on 10 March. Some exciting new work resulted.
Design Craft's flagship shop is located in Somaiya Bhavan, 45-47, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Post Box No.384, Fort,
Mumbai. Phone : +91-22 61702273.
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
As we take a program in design education to an educational institute, Somaiya Kala Vidya is proud to announce that we
have formed an MOU with the esteemed Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Other academic alliances, in addition
to our link to SomaiyaVidyavihar, Mumbai, are in process.
During the Market Orientation course, MSU Assistant Professor Dr. Falguni Patel, Department of Clothing and Textiles,
conducted a day-long workshop in fibers and structures for our design students.
You can meet the Design Craft artisans on the SKV website. We welcome you to log onto www.somaiya-kalavidya.org.
Under Design Craft you will find a map, and profiles of each of the artisan designers. A work of art in itself, the map
with artisan designer logos is also available in hard copy.
As we build our institute, interesting
visitors come! This winter we enjoyed
visits from Shibori artist Barbara Pickett,
global textile expert Mayann Wise, Scottish
curator Katy West, and entrepreneur par
excellence Jenny Cameron.
All enriched the experience of our design
and business students.
STAFF AND ALUMNI NEWS
True to his word, 2016 BMA student Purshottam Vankar answered an opportunity, an open call for woven samples
from across the globe by American conceptual artist Helen Mirra. His work will now be shown in "Standard
Incomparable," a part of the exhibition titled Ellen Lesperance, Helen Mirra, Traversingat the Armory Center for the Arts
in Pasadena, CA from 4 June until September. The exhibition comprises weavings from every continent, made by
weavers of all ages, with any amount of experience. Each interpreted simple instructions in his or her own way. After
September, the show will travel to Milan, Italy.
SKV Governing Council Member and Visiting Faculty Lokesh Ghai conducted two projects in UK as part of Re:
Imaging India,the celebration of 70 years of Indian independence supported by the British Council and Art Council of
UK. In Yorkshire, he worked with a theater production on the theme of textiles, migration and mills. At the V&A
Museum of Childhood, he collaborated with a Warli tribal artist in an artist residency. They conducted workshops with
over 300 school children in London.
LOkesh and BMA 2014 graduate Soyab AKT Khatri will be presenting work in in an exhibition in Scotland in June.
Dayalal Kudecha, Abdulaziz Khatri, Junaid Ismail Khatri,and Suleman Umar Faruk Khatri are busy finalizing
their collections for the July International Folk Art Market |Santa Fe 2016.
SKV ONLINE
Founder Director Judy Frater published an article, "Re-Thinking Scale: Craft Traditions in the Contemporary Market," in
the 22 March 2016 issue of Garland.
You can now browse the SKVwebsite.
Learn more about our work on our facebook page.
For a discussion on issues of art and artisan, follow threadsofidentity.wordpress.com
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
1-3 September 2016- Artisan to Artisan Design Exhibition, Mumbai
1-22 November 2016- Craft Traditions Course
17-19 November 2016- 2016 Artisan Design Student Exhibition, Ahmedabad
1-3 December 2016- 2016 BMA Student Exhibition, Delhi
7 January 2017- SKV Convocation, Kutch
SKV GOVERNING COUNCIL AND ADVISORS
SKV's Governing Council includes Shri Samir Somaiya, Amritaben Somaiya, Judy Frater, Anjana Somany, Lokesh Ghai,
and Irfan Anwar Khatri.
The institute is also advised by a team of visionary Master Artisans, who guide us in honouring and nurturing textile
traditions:Ali Mohammed Isha Khatri -bandhani artist, Bhuj, Gulam Hussain Umar Khatri -bandhani artist, Bhuj, Ismail
Mohammed Khatri - block printer, Ajrakhpur, Shamji Vishramji Siju- weaver, Bhujodi, and Umar Farouk Khatribandhani artist, Bhadli.
LOOKING AHEAD- SUPPORT SKV
SKV is well into its busiest year yet, with both Design and BMA courses, Craft Traditions courses, and Outreach
programs planned. We have an ambitious road ahead- building a new campus while developing programs for artisans and
others. We offer education to traditional artisans free to women, and for a token fee to men. This year, in addition to our
capital campaign, we have the challenge of raising over RS 36,00,000 (over $ 55,000), to operate our programs.
As we conduct our third academic year, think now about making a tax-deductible gift!
Your generous contribution can help! You can make a difference in the lives of our very creative and courageous
artisan students!! Sponsor an Artisan Student and enjoy his/her success for just RS 70,000 ($ 1,076).
Every contribution in affordable increments will count!
Contact [email protected] for details.
With your support, our institution will continue to break new ground for craft and artisans.
Together we will create value for design craft, and a sustainable future for craft traditions.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ―Mahatma Gandhi