Craft Maps now on permanent display at Race Course Metro Station, Delhi
Craft Maps now on permanent display at Race
Course Metro Station, Delhi
October 1, 2015 would be an important day
for India’s karigars. A unique art gallery of craft maps that provides
locations of craft production and marketing areas all over India, has been
inaugurated by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Hon’ble Minister of State for
Textiles (Independent Charge), at the Race Course Road Metro station in New
Delhi.
Min. @santoshgangwar
on inaugurating the display of Craft Maps of India, at Race Course Metro
station
The forty-eight large-sized artistic crafts maps of India
together cover every state; there is one map for India and another for NCR,
Delhi. They were conceptualized and created by Dastkari Haat Samiti, a national
association of Indian crafts people, during the period 1994 - 2010.
The maps highlight crafts and textiles of respective
states, depicting crafts persons and presenting relevant information against
the backdrop of respective art forms. The traditional art forms have been cast
in a new light, drawing attention to the dynamic nature of traditional art. It
is the first time that these art forms have been applied to maps; for instance,
terracotta artist Kaushalya Verma, Manju Jhangra and Geeta Jhangra from Haryana
have used their traditional skill to create a map made of terracotta stars.
Kashmiri papier mache artist Hakim Ghulam Mohammad, who always used to paint on
papier mache or wooden items, has painted a shawl map of Srinagar on paper for
the first time.
Exporters and NGOs have been using the craft maps to locate crafts for
sourcing, marketing and design development. The maps have helped in promoting
many an unknown area and craft. The craft maps have reached many parts of the
world and are a unique cartographic documentation of crafts, textiles and
traditional arts.
They were displayed by the Government of India at the Frankfurt Book Fair
when India was the guest country, and by Government of Delhi at London as part
of a major exhibition at Trafalgar Square. The first exhibition was inaugurated
by late President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2005 at Dilli Haat.
Dastkari Haat Samiti gifted the entire set of exhibits to the Crafts Museum in 2009. The collection has been put together for display at Race Course Metro Station, due to the joint endeavours of Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Crafts Museum, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar Panda,
Secretary, Textiles; Shri Alok Kumar, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts),
Ms. Jaya Jaitley, founder of Dastkari Haat Samiti, and officials of Delhi Metro
Rail Corporation were among others present on the occasion.
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