.: ARTISANA :.


		Welcome To Artisana :

		A voluntary non profit organization working for craftspeople. Contemporary designs for lifestyle products made in eco friendly way by traditional craft skills in weaving, embroidery,sholapith, metal casting, pottery, durrie making and tribal jewellery.

		About The Council :

		The Crafts Council of West Bengal is a non-profit non-government registered body working for promotion of Arts & Crafts, and the craftspeople of Eastern India. It was formed in 1966 under the Presidentship of renowned scholar, Dr Suniti Kumar Chatterjee with the well known social worker and Parliamentarian Smt. Ila Palchoudhuri, as Honorary Secretary. Today it has a twenty member strong executive committee headed by Justice Monjula Bose (retd.), as President, and Smt Ruby Palchoudhuri, as General Secretary, and has to its credit more than two hundred and seventy five members from all echelons of society.

	The Crafts Council of West Bengal has been working for promotion of Arts & Crafts, and craftspersons of Eastern India, affiliated to Crafts Council of India and through it, to the Copenhagen-based World Crafts. Following in the footsteps of Crafts Council of India its main aim has been to revive, preserve and support declining indigenous knowledge, resources and skills, and to update artisanal technologies to generate sustainable livelihood and ensure continuity of cultural traditions. It acts as a facilitator assisting the crafts community to adapt to an ever changing market through sensitive design interventions. It has till date set up a Kantha embroidery center, a Jute embroidery center, a tribal jute weaving center as well as a unique center to revive an ancient extinct Indo-Portuguese embroidery form known as the satgaon quilt embroidery are all run by women artisans.

	CCWB has over the years conducted various technology upgradation programmes in metal casting , terracotta, basketry, weaving , dyeing, painting etc. as well as numerous design development and product diversification workshops with different craft groups.

	It has endeavored ceaselessly to expose talented craftspeople, nationally and internationally, and facilitate craft marketing through fairs, festivals and exhibitions. It has helped craftspeople and performers participate in Festival of India in UK – London, Festival of India in USA – Philadelphia, Festival of India in JAPAN – Tokyo. It has also organized many Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for grass-root level craftspersons. However, the high point has been the setting up of Council’s marketing center Artisana in July 2003 with borrowings from the bank.

	CCWB has also collaborated with various museums, research institutions and cultural centers over the years. Some of the major collaborations have been with - Gurusaday Museum, Joka, 24 Parganas(South). National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, USA. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Royal Edinburgh Museum, Scotland, UK. National Museum of Wales, Scotland, UK. Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. British Museum , London, UK. Philadelphia Museum of Arts, Philadelphia, U.S.A.


	Our aims & objectives are :

	to revive, preserve and support declining indigenous knowledge, resources, skills. to update artisanal technologies. to create a sustainable source of raw material. to act as facilitator in assisting the crafts community. to understand the ever changing markets. to awaken the creativity of a community through sensitive design intervention. to organise income-generation programmes for women by imparting training and setting up various production centres and thus encourage women empowerment. to organise craft workshops in various school, training given by rural craftspersons to create awareness of our craft heritage. to organise craft scholarships for children of craftspersons for formal education and at the same time ensure continuity of tradition.

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