Inauguration of Exhibition

The great divide between fine arts and crafts has impacted art pedagogy, exhibition practices, and art practice. This binary has long-lasting impacts not only in the cultural realm but also in our understanding of craft practices. The dichotomy between arts and crafts has been settled as part of colonial art education. While the nationalist response was to reclaim the arts of the past and monuments, a discourse around the craft practices was developed that was protective, leading to an inferior status. This was also reflected later in the post-colonial government policies in India.

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Even though contemporary art practitioners have appropriated craft practices, they erase the cultural contexts of these practices. Apart from a lack of acknowledgment by the artists, the curatorial spaces mostly ignore these artifacts. This project aims to interrogate and blur these hierarchical categories, promoting an integrated approach that includes craft practices in both academic and exhibition spaces.

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The curatorial vision aims to foster an inclusive cultural landscape that recognizes and celebrates the artistic value of craft. This edition focuses on the bell metal workers of Balakati near Bhubaneswar, a community with a rich heritage of metalworking that is deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of Odisha.