Folk artists of India have gone online to teach art forms like Kalamkari, Kavad, Phad or Madhubani painting. We chat with artists as well as the MeMeraki, Zwendedesign, Madcap Workshops and Bitclass platforms
Krishna Tashi Palmo explains the importance of certain elements in Tibetan ‘thangka’ painting. She waits patiently as the class grabs her, the ‘students’ are part of a two-day online workshop organized by the culture-tech platform, Memeraki.
Thangka artist and teacher Palmo lives in Seobag, a village in Himachal Pradesh. Over four hours spread over two days, the class is introduced to the history and cultural significance of thangka painting.
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Despite the sometimes spotty internet connection, learning the art doesn’t get more comfortable than this. You are in your home, a representative of the company makes sure that everything goes smoothly during the workshop. Palmo is one of several artists collaborating with platforms such as MeMeraki to conduct art classes remotely.
Read more | How Indian traditional and folk artists are adopting online to survive the pandemic
Like Palmo, Kalyan Joshi, an award-winning phad artist from Bhilwara, Rajasthan, traveled home and abroad to participate in exhibitions and conduct workshops. Traveling to showcase folk art, a form of religious scroll painting practiced for generations, was Joshi’s source of livelihood till last year’s lockdown.
Similarly, in Darbhanga, Bihar, Madhubani artist Pratima Bharti traveled for workshops and exhibitions and was tasked with supporting her family. “This is our business, with the restrictions of the lockdown our livelihood has been affected,” she says over the phone.
During the last year and a half of the pandemic, practitioners of traditional art forms like Kavad, Phad, Madhubani, Gond, Pichwai, Lippan and others are facing tough times due to COVID-19 restrictions on travel, canceled exhibitions and workshops. .
Attempting to help them are e-learning and hobby-tech platforms that facilitate online workshops. “We are managing somehow. In such cases online workshops organized by MeMeraki are helpful,” says Bharti. Joshi virtually teaches Phad with Bengaluru-based ‘hobby-tech’ portal Zwendedesign.
Before the lockdown, Australia-based Yosha Gupta’s brand MeMeraki (@me_meraki on Instagram), headquartered in Gurugram, made hand-painted, artistic fashion accessories such as bags, scarves and clothing. Their work involved working closely with traditional artisans from across the country.
Read more | Memeraki’s folk art classes win through lockdown
“When the pandemic hit, while our revenues plummeted and we were struggling as a business, we saw that all the actors we worked with were struggling even more as there was no tourism and no performances. had not happened. We thought we needed to do something to create new jobs and revenue streams for them and later for ourselves. That’s how we started experimenting with online workshops a year ago,” explains Yosha. Artists such as Pattachitra specialist Apindra Swain and Chitrakathi artist Chetan Gangwane have found a new audience for their work; These artifacts would otherwise have been limited to exhibitions and workshops.
Before the pandemic Zwende (@zwendedesign) was also working with folk artists to create customized home decor and accessories, in addition to offline hobby workshops in Bengaluru. Zwende, like MeMeraki, works with a network of artisans spread across the country. For them too there was a question of supporting the craftsmen when the opportunity ran out. S Sujay, Founder, says, “Our focus has been on empowering artists, helping them reach out to a wider audience.”
About moving into the e-learning space, he recalls, “Last year, while trying to figure out ways of liquidating inventory, when the pandemic struck us, we thought ‘Why only sell? Traditional art. Why not display the forms?'”
Yosha, who sees the situation as an opportunity to empower and accelerate the ‘artisan maker’ economy, adds, “We call ourselves a ‘culture-tech’ platform, working with crafts and artisans. It’s a part of being a designer.We are the first ‘culture-techniques’ to use technology with a mission to digitize India’s heritage arts and crafts to create sustainable livelihoods for artisans across the globe while unlocking human potential ‘ Think of it as the stage.”
a logical step
While for these two companies, the change was a change from their model of working, for others like Chennai-based Madcap Workshop it was a question of taking online what they were doing offline. Madcap Workshop is conducting offline art workshops since 2018. With over 500 offline workshops in cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Delhi, going online was the logical step.
“With the lockdown, the interest in art has increased. The profile of pre-pandemic participants was in the 25 to 40 age group, but is now young people and those over 55 years old. Since they have time, people are discovering art forms that they could not have earlier,” says GK Gokulraj, Founder and CEO. The art forms taught at Madcap Workshop are a mix of modern and traditional art forms, mostly taught by independent artists.
It was trial and error when these platforms ushered in traditional art workshops. Classes are designed keeping in mind the interests of those seeking an introduction to the traditional arts and those seeking in-depth sessions.
Bitclass, a platform that ‘teaches’ a range of subjects – from art, cooking and martial arts to blogging, stock trading and cryptocurrency, offers a choice of introductory workshops. “It’s essentially a ‘try and buy’ so that they (participants) have a fair understanding of what they will learn and if that’s what they want. The workshop will introduce them to a topic (or art form), And then they can decide if they want to do it,” remarked Gunjan Kejriwal, one of the founders.
professionals of online
Reena George, an architect in Bengaluru, recently participated in a four-day online Madhubani workshop organized by Zwendedesign. She had previously attended offline workshops. The lockdown allowed him to try new things, “I never got an opportunity to do so many things, as there was always something else to do. I have no connection with folk art, Madhubani looked interesting so I chose it. Not only do you learn something new, but it also broadens your horizons,” she says.
She finds no difference between online and offline learning, but finds the former ‘five percent better’ as she gets the opportunity to attend classes from the comfort of her own home.
Yosha says, “About 10,000 people from around the world must have attended these classes in the past year. Some have attended over 40-50 of our workshops and have crossed 400 workshops since we started them last year.
Art material is distributed based on ease of availability, with inventory provided in advance in case of distribution restrictions. The ‘art kits’ are put together with the help of teacher-artists, with forms such as Tanjore art, kantha, phulkari and sujni. The course package includes access to recording/replays, downloadable and interactive sessions with artists for clearing doubts.
The workshops are live, they begin with an orientation session where the artist explains the art form before guiding the participants to the session. Fees start from ₹99 depending on the art form, duration of workshops (amateur or master class) and cost of materials. Long workshops are spread over four days or two weekends, depending on the art form.
new development opportunities
Artisans are also willing to adapt and re-invent. “This is an opportunity to showcase our work differently. Apart from taking our art to a wider audience, we have access to an online market and space,” explains Joshi.
The transition to the online space hasn’t been easy, but it has been embraced by artists in many parts of the country. They are exploring the potential of this new ‘space’.
“The artists are tech-savvy and have learned to use Zoom and teach workshops. Our team spends time training artists; We have created training videos to set up the camera, the lighting and the softer aspects of storytelling, and to break up the classes into easy sessions,” says Yosha.
Remuneration is a part of the deal, but recognition for the artist and the art is a motivator. Gond artist Venkat Shyam from Bhopal explains, “It is a great experience. More than that, I see this as an opportunity to take Gond art to as many people as possible, explaining what it is and its history. Since the audience is large, the reach is high.” Belongs to a family of Shyam Gond artists, it has been 40 years. These artists work across all platforms and often introduce new artists to facilitators.
While online workshops provide new opportunities, for many of these artists, they don’t translate to work like before. Some artists like Joshi have been able to leverage the medium to their advantage, while others like Pratima are still testing the waters. “Our entire family is involved in this (Madhubani painting). It goes without saying that we have been killed. Workshops are not fixed or regular, unless there is a sale it will be difficult. I think it will remain so till the situation changes,” Pratima said.
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