Artistic and intricate handiworks

Crafts Council of Karnataka presents Kuteera 2024 in Bengaluru, featuring over crafts from across India

Kuteera 2024, which commences in Bengaluru this weekend, is an exhibition that will feature 35 artisans, social enterprises and organisations from across India. Besides this, the event will also include live craft demonstrations by visiting artisans and numerous craft kits that will provide children with craft activities, proving that handmade products are still in despite us living in an age where everything is driven by technology and AI.

Organised by the Crafts Council of Karnataka (CCK), in association with Creative Dignity, Kuteera is CCK’s annual exhibition and sale that “is aimed at providing a platform for the craft community to showcase new design developments and hand-crafted products. Through this platform, CCK aims to bridge the gap between creators and buyers, facilitate design intervention, help revive, support, and preserve the languishing crafts of Karnataka,” says Revathi Prasad, an executive committee member of CCK, who has been associated with CCK since 2008 and she is the convenor for Kuteera 2024. 

Creative Dignity, on the other hand, is a movement that brings together diverse creative producers, practitioners, and professionals to energise the ecosystem of Indian artisans. Their vision is for a world where artisans have the agency to thrive with dignity and they have curated a section with 10 stalls run by artisans that they have worked with closely in various design interventions for Kuteera, says Revathi.

“It will be an immersive experience which will give the visitors a chance to meet the artisans, learn a bit about their crafts, understand the challenges that they have gone through to create something and purchase directly from them. By doing so, we are ensuring that all proceeds go to supporting their livelihood.”

Revathi also states that this year’s Kuteera is also a festive edition as we have timed it before the festival season. We have raakis, Dasara dolls, Ganeshas, and return gifts for Dasara and Deepavali. Also as people change their home decor for festivities, we have a huge range of home decor and home linen. This year for Kuteera we will not be bringing textiles simply because when we have textiles, all eyes go only in that direction. We do have an exclusive textile exhibition called Vastrabharana.”

Kuteera will feature accessories like thread and tribal jewellery, ceramic cookware and home decor with home linen from Tamil Nadu and toda embroidery from Kashmir and Tamil Nadu. There will also be Kondapalli toys from Andhra, which are known for their vibrant colours.

“We have all crafts from Manipur like baskets, mats and more and Mirzapur carpets”. From the northern Karnataka region, an organisation called Dakhni Diaries that works with sheep wool, brings its crocheted bags, blankets and laundry baskets.