Artisan First Conversations is an ongoing series of live discussions on India’s craft heritage, and the continuing effort to conserve and nurture it into the 21st century.

Featuring leading handcraft practitioners, some of them the last of their field, in conversation with social entrepreneurs and academics at the forefront of crafts conservation.

In Episode 1 moderated by Hema Shroff Patel, Dr. Jyotindra Jain, Sentila Yanger, Sharda Gautam, Sukumar Haobam, and Aratrik Dev Varman share their craft stories through documentation and observation in their respective fields.

Register for Artisan First Conversations to receive an invite to the live Zoom event on October 10.

EPISODE 1
OCTOBER 10 • Live on Zoom • 3:30 pm IST

Aratrik Dev Varman
Founder, Tilla

Dr Jyotindra Jain
Former Director,
National Crafts Museum

Sentila Yanger
Nagaland Craft Revivalist,
2008 Padma Shri Recipient

Sharda Gautam
Head of Crafts,
Tata Trust Antaran

Sukumar Haobam
Sustainable Product Designer, Manipur 

Hema Shroff Patel
Founder, Amba

India By Hand curates extraordinary travel and cultural experiences in India focused on art, design, handcrafts, fashion and food. These include private, expert-guided tours to unique destinations, creative events and conferences in remarkable locations, online masterclasses with experts, physical and virtual meet-ups with leading designers and artists, and the finest culinary experiences with top chefs across India.

An initiative by Tata Trusts to bring seminal changes in craft development, starting with handloom. Antaran aims to transform traditional crafts by strengthening craft based livelihoods through a multidimensional approach for technical, design, enterprise and market development interventions. Through Incubation & Design Centres in Assam, Nagaland, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, Antaran enables traditional artisans to become design weavers who receive due recognition and returns, creating a community of micro-entrepreneurs across the value chain.