The Last Craftspeople: Bridging Heritage and Innovation in Indian Handicrafts
This project explores the future of India’s traditional handicrafts by delving into the lives of Jaipur’s lac bangle makers and Channapatna’s wooden toy artisans. Set against the challenges of globalization, mechanization, and evolving cultural values, this speculative design project envisions how these crafts might survive and thrive over the next 50 years. Through engaging storytelling, the project highlights a powerful blend of tradition and innovation, showcasing how artisans imagine the future of their practices while preserving their cultural essence. By combining creative workshops, artisan collaborations, and speculative prototypes, the work underscores the resilience of these crafts and the urgent need for action to protect and adapt them in a rapidly changing world. This project serves as both a reflection on cultural heritage and a vision for its sustainable evolution.
Hands Across Time: Warnings from 2024
Hands Across Time explores the urgent challenges threatening traditional Indian handicrafts and the artisans who sustain them. Through the stories of craftspeople from Jaipur and Channapatna, the video sheds light on the fragility of these centuries-old practices in the face of globalization, mechanization, and cultural shifts. As part of a speculative design project, this video serves as a powerful call to action, imagining a future where inaction leads to the loss of these invaluable crafts. It challenges viewers to reflect on their role in preserving this heritage and inspires collective efforts to support the resilience and evolution of Indian craftsmanship before it’s too late.
Warning: contains flashing images