Curatorial note

The second edition of the OCO Fellowship Programme is conceived as an in-depth research exploration into Chandua, the appliqué craft tradition of Odisha. Building upon the ethos of the inaugural edition, this fellowship continues to cultivate meaningful dialogues that intersect the social, historical, anthropological, cultural, and aesthetic dimensions embedded within Chandua-making practices.

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Functioning as an extension of the OCO Residency Programme, the Fellowship seeks to further the documentation-driven research initiated by participating fellows. Through expanded field engagement across various craft clusters in Odisha, the programme aims to map the networks of power, systems of artistic interdependence, patterns of labour distribution, and ongoing negotiations for artistic autonomy that configure traditional modes of making and knowledge transmission.

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In doing so, the Fellowship endeavours to foreground how generational and non-generational groups of artisans coexist, collaborate, and occasionally diverge, revealing the subtle dynamics that shape both the preservation and transformation of Chandua in contemporary contexts. This edition aspires to offer a textured understanding of the craft’s living continuum, illuminating the evolving relationships that sustain its relevance within Odisha’s cultural landscape.