Our story
Odisha Craft Odyssey (OCO) began with a simple but urgent realization — many of Odisha’s extraordinary craft traditions are celebrated visually, yet rarely understood in their full cultural, historical, and material depth.
Across Odisha, generations of artisans continue to carry complex systems of knowledge through their hands, tools, rituals, materials, and everyday practices. Yet much of this knowledge remains undocumented, fragmented, or reduced to commercial craft narratives detached from the communities that sustain them.
OCO was created as a long-term response to this condition.
Conceived by curator Premjish Achari, curated by Sibdas Sengupta, and developed through a collaboration between MGM Foundation and BEADS, OCO brings together researchers, artists, designers, archivists, and artisan communities to study Odisha’s living craft traditions through immersive field engagement.
Rather than observing craft from a distance, OCO works within villages, workshops, homes, temples, and community spaces — documenting oral histories, material processes, migration stories, design systems, ritual practices, and changing economies surrounding craft traditions across Odisha.
Through residencies, fellowships, publications, exhibitions, and archives, OCO aims to build a long-term body of knowledge around Odisha’s crafts — one craft at a time.
Learn more about: MGM Foundation & BEADS
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Vision
Odisha Craft Odyssey (OCO) envisions building an inclusive cultural platform that repositions craft as a vital form of artistic, intellectual, and cultural knowledge rather than a practice secondary to fine arts.
The programme seeks to challenge long-standing hierarchies between art and craft by integrating Odisha’s living craft traditions into research, pedagogy, exhibitions, archives, and cultural discourse. Through sustained field engagement and collaboration with artisan communities, OCO aims to document, preserve, and critically engage with the diverse craft practices of Odisha while amplifying the voices of craftspeople within contemporary cultural narratives.
At its core, OCO believes that craft is not merely heritage to be preserved, but a living system of knowledge shaped by labour, ecology, memory, material intelligence, ritual, and community.
The long-term vision of the initiative includes the development of archives, publications, exhibitions, research grants, interdisciplinary collaborations, policy discourse, and public platforms that contribute toward a deeper and more sustainable understanding of craft practices in Odisha and beyond.
Read more about the vision
Purpose
MGM Foundation, MGM Group Odisha’s social transformation wing, aims to promote inclusive growth and uplift marginalized communities while establishing a legacy of sustainable development and collective well-being. Through various comprehensive initiatives in healthcare, education, art, sports, and rural development, MGM Foundation connects with the community at the grassroot level to effect holistic social impact. The foundation amplifies its efforts through several strategic partnerships with government bodies, educational institutions, NGOs, and the private sector, alongside engaging in sponsorships and donations to bolster various programs.
Committed to improving the quality of life in rural areas surrounding MGM’s mining and plant sites, MGM Foundation undertakes several healthcare initiatives that include organizing medical camps, running mobile healthcare units, and supporting local hospitals with essential equipment and infrastructure. These efforts also extend to constructing residential facilities, ensuring access to clean drinking water, implementing hygiene and sanitation projects, and organizing vocational training & skill development sessions for both agricultural and non-agricultural employment.
MGM Foundation supports educational endeavours including school infrastructure development, scholarship programs, teacher training, and digital learning with the goal of bridging the educational divide around the state. Further, the foundation promotes sports infrastructure and technical education to encourage participation and healthy competition, thus providing local talent with high-quality coaching and infrastructure to excel on global platforms.
MGM Foundation emphasizes on the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage while fostering creativity and innovation in the arts by supporting art workshops, exhibitions, cultural festivals and events, artist support programs, and art education. The foundation hopes to create a symphony of positive change, empowering individuals and communities to craft their own success stories.