Creative Dignity and Project Tarasha’s digital skill workshop in Hyderabad

Ahead of Tarasha Craft Exhibit by Creative Dignity and Project Tarasha, here' how the preparatory digital skill workshop for artisan entrepreneurs was held in Hyderabad. The workshop hopes to boost their businesses on social media and market their products online.

A motley group of artisan entrepreneurs of non-textile crafts have gathered for a digital skill and social media workshop in Hyderabad organised by Creative Dignity in collaboration with Project Tarasha (a social initiative by Titan Company Ltd). This 10-day workshop, in its second batch now, is part of the Artisan Enterprise Lab, an entrepreneurship development program across India that addresses key areas such as digital marketing, design, entrepreneurship, supply chain management, value addition and infrastructure. The workshop features a series of related training modules, value addition at the cluster level and appropriate capital and market access.

The energy is infectious at Charminar as more than 15 ‘artisans-turned-students’ learn to shoot a three-minute video and edit it to 90 seconds at a lac bangle-making workshop, for an Instagram Reel. Post-lunch, they carry white and orange table tennis balls at Jeevan Jyothi Retreat House in Begumpet. No, it is not for a sports session but a video/photography session conducted by Pradeep Shantaram Patil, a communication designer. Pradeep has different exercises; shooting in the golden hour (the first hour after sunrise and before sunset), how to focus and crop, choosing a background where the product appeals more and use of the rule of thirds (placing the subject in the left or right third of an image so that the other two-thirds are left open).

The purpose of the workshop is to boost their businesses on social media by training them to create eye-catching visuals to market their products effectively online. “COVID-19 enabled many young artisans to enter the handmade sector owing to their digital expertise that became necessary . The next generation of artisans are interested in entrepreneurship but they need the knowledge and skills for it,” says Meena Appnender of Creative Dignity, during a break.

Improving technical skills to help artisans grow their business in an online market got a positive response at their first digital skills and social media workshop held in Gwalior (July 19 to 29, 2023). The results were encouraging with 3327 new followers, 146 new customers and 19 artisans selling 529 products online over only 2.5 months, adds Meena.

As the workshop progresses , patua artist Vishnu Kumar from Kaladera village in Jaipur, keeps the company of glass artist Vishal Kumar from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, while Hyderabad-based Bidri artiste Tahir Siddiqui and handloom technology graduate Premalatha Gajam make a list of key points. “I used to think people employ professional photographers to click product photos for social media. Now I feel confident to take photographs myself,” says Vishnu. Vishal, who learnt the art of presentation, says, “I used to randomly post photographs on social media without thinking of its presentation.”

Premalatha, the younger daughter of master weaver Gajam Govardhana is busy scrolling social media accounts on her smartphone for a task — “How many posts do you remember from the one-minute scrolling?” — by their teacher Kimaya Balki. Not able to recall even five posts, the group gives a sheepish smile. “It is a lesson to learn,” says Kimaya, co-founder of Write Design Deliver Advertising, an agency dealing with branding creative content.

“Social media users do not recollect or have time to like your content; the content has to be engaging to grab attention,” she says adding, “Having been to several exhibitions, artisans are good at expressing themselves , but do not know how to translate that content effectively online.”