Artisans by Design

Available on Oct 28, 2024

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.

About the Book

Artisans by Design chronicles the journey of developing the first design school for artisans in India and fifteen years of artisans learning design. Spanning 50 years, the story is told in vignettes of artisans who were part of the journey, intertwined with the author’s story. Through this dialogue, the reader experiences what happened, how and why, and what its impact has been on traditional artisans in the contemporary world.

A rare, intimate portrayal of artisans, the book offers personal connections to people usually glimpsed from a distance and insights into tradition, craft, and the creativity of traditional artisans. It provides textile afficionados and people concerned with sustainability an authentic, fresh approach to development, illuminates sustainability as cultural heritage and presents development as human centered.

About the Author

Ashoka Fellow Judy Frater lived with artisans of Kutch for three decades, where she founded Kala Raksha Trust and Museum, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya, the first design school for artisans, and reinvented the school as Somaiya Kala Vidya. She has been honored with the Sir Misha Black Medal for Design Education, the Crafts Council of India Kamla award, the Designers of India Design Guru Award and more.

Previously Associate Curator at The Textile Museum, author of Threads of Identity: Embroidery and Adornment of the Nomadic Rabaris, and The Art of the Dyer in Kutch, she has written and lectured extensively on craft, and has an over 8,000 following. She now lives in Santa Fe.

Readers will learn:

• How Somaiya Kala Vidya and Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya affected the lives and work of artisan students, both individually and as part of the larger craft communities of the Kutch District
• The challenges and triumphs of founding, running, and maintaining the school
• How outside forces—societal, political, environmental, and cultural—profoundly impacted the school and each student
• And more

More than 200 color photographs of the artisans and their work bring you an intimate view of this unique institution and the lives and works of its graduates.

Size: 8.5in x 11.0in | Pages: 304 | 250 color images
Binding: Hardback
ISBN: 9780764368431
PRICE: $39.99