After successfully onboarding leading designers Manish Malhotra, Anamika Khanna’s AK OK and Raghavendra Rathore who dropped their first NFTs on WazirX Marketplace, FDCI and Lakmé Fashion Week have partnered with Creative Dignity- a volunteer led movement working on the relief, rehabilitation, and rejuvenation within the craft sector, to now get artisans practising age-old heritage arts and crafts to be a part of this exciting new medium and create NFTs.
Through the support of EkiBeki, a volunteer organization working with Creative Dignity and a social enterprise that works towards craft revival, a group of professional Indian painters came forward to support traditional artisans by creating a single piece together. In the project ‘Hand in Hand’, both artists together created a piece by understanding the traditional artisan’s style and then narrating a new story. The artworks created by the painters/artists and traditional/folk artists are being converted into NFTs for this collaboration.
To launch the initiative a panel discussion was held earlier this week with esteemed members from across the industry. The panelists included Jaya Jaitly – Founder and President of the Dastkari Haat Samiti; Ayush Kasliwal – Founding member Creative Dignity & one of India’s leading design thinkers, practitioners and advocates for artisans; Vishakha Singh – Co-Founder & VP – WazirX NFT Marketplace; Farhat Datta – Fine art artist, Graphic designer, Environmentalist; Choti Tekam – Gond artist from Mandala district in Madhya Pradesh. The session was moderated by Darshana Gajare, Lead – Sustainability RISE Worldwide / Lakmé Fashion Week.
Vishakha Singh, VP, Co-founder, WazirX NFT Marketplace said, “We, at, WazirX NFT, are thrilled about the launch of these artisanal NFTs on our platform. It’s about time the artisans get acknowledgement for their hard work and for their contribution to Indian art and craft in general. Creative Dignity has done some tremendous work in the past to ensure that these artisans get sustained. Converting their work into NFTs will further add another source of revenue for these artisans. With this unique collaboration, we hope to inspire the young and upcoming generation of artists.”
“During the pandemic, Creative Dignity helped many artisans in connecting to the e-commerce platforms to sell their products virtually, NFTs is the next steppingstone for us. We feel that converting craft products to NFTs will help generate awareness about these artisanal practices globally and help create a strong and direct way of connecting artisans to the new-age buyers” said the Communications Team at Creative Dignity
Talking about the initiative, Jaspreet Chandok, Head of RISE Fashion & Lifestyle said, “We at FDCIX Lakmé Fashion Week have always recognized craft and artisans as the backbone of our creative economy. The thought of launching artisanal NFTs came to us as we saw this as an opportunity to introduce indigenous arts and crafts to a younger population who may or may not engage with it in a regular scenario. The world of NFTs also opens up a new revenue stream for the artisans and we’re hopeful that it will also attract the younger generations from the artisans families to take the crafts ahead. A big thank you to EkiBeki, a volunteer organization working with Creative Dignity and a social enterprise that works towards craft revival. It was through their project ‘Hand-in-Hand’ that artists and artisans like Farhat & Choti Tekam have come together and made these NFTs come to life.”
Details of the artworks:
DEEPTI NAIR X RUPSONA CHITRAKAR (PATACHITRA)
Goddess of the sea – the bountiful one. Deepti’s exploration of the divine feminine in conjunction with Rupsona.The colourful energetic fish are a delightful counterpoint to Deepti’s personification of the serene and bountiful sea.
UTTARA JOSHI X THILAK REDDY (KALAMKARI)
23 Steps to Divinity: So many tales have been inspired by the icon of the Durga, who is not just a divine being who exists in a cosmic dimension beyond our reach but is an intrinsic part of our private, precious moments of meditation, prayer & reflection. The Devi series is a representation of womanhood in its glory & splendor. This particular piece is done by Uttara Joshi in charcoal while Tilak Reddy has painstakingly done the handmade Kalamkari panel in the collaborative artwork for kalamkari.
AYESHA BROCHA X PADMASHRI DULARI DEVIJI (MADHUBANI)
Lockdown Dreams: Ayesha’s Madamjis relaxing in the quiet surroundings illustrated by Dulari Deviji Madhubani jungle. Earlier Madhubani paintings were based on the scenes from the royal courts and social events. Taking the theme forward the relaxing outdoors is what people wished for during the lockdown.
FARHAT DUTTA X CHOTI TEKAM (GOND)
Jugalbandi: “Working on a project like this was a first for me. The idea of collaborating with an Indian traditional artist, to create a single cohesive piece, is a very progressive and unique endeavour. Vishpala showed us a number of works of traditional artists. Among them, I was most drawn to the Gond art pieces and specifically to Choti’s work. I chose this particular piece, in which the serpent, the peacock and the tree are all embodied in a single entity.I felt drawn to the powerful depiction of the forms and the sense of synergy between them, that is so beautifully illustrated in the fluid lines of the piece.The challenge was how to come up with a contemporary piece that would do justice to this age-old, glorious art form, without overpowering it, and instead, complementing it in a way that would enhance its character. My concept was to crystallize the main elements of Choti’s piece and to present them in a modern and contemporary light with influences of my own style of work, so that both the pieces would reflect off of each other to create a ‘Jugal Bandi’
The eye of the peacock took center stage, to denote the animal spirit. The criss-crossing of the bark in Choti’s piece was another vital element which I included to form a strong focal point in my layout and the all the various textures in the body of the peacock and bark were strategically placed in vertical and horizontal planes to bring forth a contemporary feel to the piece.I immensely enjoyed the whole process and I am humbled to have my art featured alongside this rich and ancient art form of India, which is more than 1400 years old but is still so relevant today. Thank you Vishpala for your vision and initiative.” – says the artist Farhat Datta
About WazirX NFT Marketplace:
Launched by WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX NFT Marketplace is South Asia’s first NFT marketplace that provides a credible space for creators and collectors to acquire and trade unique, exclusive artwork in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Pioneering the NFT segment in India and South Asia, WazirX NFT Marketplace launched on June 1, 2021.
Establishing itself as India’s most trusted NFT marketplace, WazirX NFT marketplace uses the fastest and most economic solutions with the low gas fee featuring digital collectibles across visual arts, music, sports and gaming. Bringing together artists, creators and crypto enthusiasts from around the world, WazirX NFT Marketplace is creating an inclusive community featuring exclusive NFTs. WazirX uses Binance smart chain network.
About Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI):
A non-profit organisation, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), is the apex body of fashion design in India, represented by over 400 members. Founded on the premise of promoting, nurturing, and representing the best of fashion and design talent in the country; its prime objective is to propagate the business of fashion. FDCI stays true to its commitment to promote the ‘Make in India’ label as handlooms take centre stage, in a country, who’s heritage is soaked in the flavours of indigenous crafts. For more information, please visit: www.fdci.org
About Lakmé:
Lakmé, is India’s no.1 colour cosmetics and leading premium skincare brand from Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Lakmé has been the pioneer of the make-up and colour cosmetics in India since 1952 by launching numerous trends leading and high-performance products. Combining international cosmetic technology with an in-depth understanding of the Indian woman’s needs, Lakmé offers women a comprehensive beauty experience through its extensive product portfolio as well as contemporary services at Lakmé Salons, India’s no.1 salon chain. For Further Information log on to www.Lakméindia.com
About Rise Worldwide:
RISE Worldwide is India’s largest independent Sports, Lifestyle and Entertainment company. It’s portfolio includes Sports & Sponsorship Consulting, Fashion & Sustainability Platform Building, Athlete Talent Management, Licensing, Broadcast Production, Lifestyle and Entertainment with owned or managed key properties such as: Lakmé Fashion Week, India’s premier Fashion platform; Indian Super League, country’s premier football league; Tata Open Maharashtra, South Asia’s only ATP World Tour event; Jio Wonderland; The Voice of Fashion and SU.RE Sustainable Resolution.
