Marrying the contemporary with tradition

Traditional artisans hone their skills with the help of contemporary artists and vice versa; now they are all set to take their work all across India

T P Venu

When traditional Indian crafts get wedded with contemporary design what you get is a unique art form. Aesthetically sound and modern in outlook. EARTH Art Gallery, started by Lipika Rao Gandra aims to do just that. The present show ‘Innovating Traditions’ is a result of four workshops that were conducted over a year.

Artworks on Kalamkari, Terracotta and Nakashi that are on display are products that artisans came up with after interactions with contemporary artists. Traditional elements were infused with contemporary touch. Lipika says, “Interaction with fine art professionals through workshops, residency programmes and lectures, the gallery empowers artisans to create and sustain their own unique, age old art enhanced with knowledge of new mediums, materials, techniques and contemporary aesthetics.”

One such artist Nageshwar Rao a master craftsman in Nakashi art held a workshop where 15 artists learnt the art form. The idea is to revive traditional art forms and to tweak them a bit to the changing times. “The idea is to record and sustain crafts like Kalamkari, Nakashi , Pottery , Batik , Leather puppetry , Bronze casting , wooden toys , paper crafts and indigenous paintings spread across India and further create a global market for these crafts.

The idea is to take the art forms to different parts of the country by exhibiting the art in different cities. At the moment though, the art forms are on display at the gallery. Check them out at:

Earth Art Gallery

Banjara Hills, Road No 12

Timing: 11-7 pm