A day of conversations, encounters, research, and reflection.
On 20 September, Odisha Craft Odyssey brought together artists, researchers, designers, archivists, craftspeople, and cultural practitioners for the inaugural OCO Symposium 2026, Mapping Transitions: Art, Craft, and the Ethnographic Turn, at the Odisha Research Centre, Bhubaneswar.
The day brought together three conversations - Art as Social Practice, The Institutional Bridge, and The Appliqué Artisan, opening up different ways of thinking about art, craft, institutions, labour, and the communities that hold these practices alive.
A significant moment of the day was the launch of Chandua: Canopies of Labour - a bilingual publication, edited by Premjis Achari and Sibdas Sengupta, that brings together fieldwork, visual documentation, archival research, and artisanal narratives. The book was formally unveiled by Guest of Honour Shri Rajeev Sethi and Chief Guest Shri Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS, marking an important moment for the Odisha Craft Odyssey programme.
The valedictory session brought the fellows, artisans, and curatorial team together, with talks by Raj Maurya and Sibdas Sengupta, followed by addresses from Shri Rajeev Sethi and Shri Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS.
Thank you to every speaker, fellow, artisan, collaborator, partner, and everyone who joined us and made the first OCO Symposium a space for meaningful conversation.
This is only the beginning.