Connecting, Creating, Curating
KAASH
Statement of Intent
Prepared by Arthur Duff, Director of Education,
Ahmedabad. April 2023.
The Creative and Productive Agenda
Simply put; India is currently undergoing a remarkable transformation where every known social, economic and cultural ‘structure’ and ‘norm’ is being turned on its head. The certainties that once governed most people’s lives are simply no more, as every citizen now has direct access to limitless information, and the development of modern infrastructure of all kinds is enabling huge growth that was unimaginable until now. There is a range of choice now available that, for many, never existed. Accelerating change is the new normal.
Creative India is the indigenous capacity of multiple communities to work with a vast range of materials to produce solutions for the functional and aesthetic needs of society, using complex skill-sets that have evolved slowly over time.
With the rapid mechanisation of so many manufacturing processes along with the development of new materials there is a real danger that the breadth and capacity of Creative India will diminish rapidly and with it, the secure livelihood of so many people.
The resilience and dexterity embodied in this capacity contain the very tools that are needed to rise to the multiple challenges of our time: stable forms of livelihood, new technologies, migration and climate change, as well as inflation, unrest and threats to India’s unique inclusive democracy. It is imperative that these embedded skills are not lost, not for the sake of being able to reproduce cultural artefacts but rather to use the capacity to think and make as a way of addressing and solving entirely new problems in the future, of being able to adapt and innovate in response to the unknown.
One of India’s great strengths is the number of groups and agencies who are already responding to the reality of the growing force of Change and its impact across all levels of society. Operating across the country are multiple agencies: Government initiatives, NGO’s and grass roots organisations that are seeking to make a difference to all forms of livelihood in the domain of Creative India. The KAASH Foundation has understood this challenge and is entering the field with a specific agenda.
Introducing KAASH - enabling and empowering
The KAASH Foundation was established in Bangalore by Sridhar Poddar in 2021 as a Centre of Excellence in Design [ or Centre of Creative Excellence ] to explore new paradigms of growth in the Creative and Cultural fields with the specific objective of improving forms of self-sufficient livelihood. It is an independent institution with links across India, South Asia and the world.
It is focused on supporting – not just preserving – and developing the diversity and dexterity of the craft skill sets that form the bedrock of Creative India, without which India and the world will be a poorer place. These shared cultural resources are of profound importance to the capacity to think and to flourish for communities everywhere. What KAASH recognises is that this dextrous capacity, which has been embedded in communities throughout the country, is a vital component of India’s ability to respond to present and future social and economic challenges and in the development of new forms of resilient livelihood.
KAASH collaborates with all forms of crafts communities and creative thinkers, policy makers and activists as well as with Institutions from around the country, both public and private, in order to expand the possibilities of learning as well as supporting this rich and diverse skill base as a means to better independent livelihood for the people who make and do.
The ideas, customs, and social behaviour of India’s multi-faceted society are the rich and varied manifestation of millennia of intellect and skill. Our capacity at KAASH to harness this diversity of talent for future development will be the measure of our success.
KAASH Activities
KAASH initiates programmes that include research and documentation, training and transmission, promotion and marketing as a way of developing skills and improving livelihoods. The key way of communicating to new audiences is through curated exhibitions of selected forms of work which enable the widest exposure, along with the support of all forms of digital communication
KAASH Communicating:
The KAASH Foundation is based in Bangalore with a national outreach. The premises is an informal venue, open to all, that can be adapted to accommodate a range of activities in the support of our mission.
As a centre of Design Excellence through the mediums of Workshops, Design, Production, Cinema, Architecture and the performing arts, KAASH regularly hosts exhibitions and seminars, workshops and master classes that seek to develop its mission and in the process challenge and inspire the minds of the future.
KAASH Teaching:
Supporting workshops and demonstrations in Bangalore and in the field focusing on capacity building for artisans and practitioners. Identifying master artisans and support their role in skill-sharing across communities of makers. Promoting peer to peer reciprocal learning and exchange.
KAASH Research and Case study development:
Support meaningful research leading to significant data collection.
Build case studies highlighting lessons for skill development, business management and promotion, by practitioners.
KAASH sharing:
KAASH is committed to building an inclusive audience across society, particularly among young people of all backgrounds.
KAASH shares research through a variety of means, including national and global publications, all forms of media, and participation in conferences and product melas.
KAASH Partnerships
Foster engagement with leading artisan communities and design and cultural institutions in India and abroad to identify research gaps and training needs and promote the sharing of knowledge in the creative field.
Currently KAASH is liaising with the following institutions:
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NID, Ahmedabad.
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Museum Rietberg, Zurich
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Evoke, London.
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Africa – maker co-operatives and institutions? [ To be identified ]
KAASH People
Director
Sridhar Poddar
Board of Trustees
Prashant Prakash, Sridhar Poddar
Implementation:
Education
Arthur Duff
Design
Harsh Bhavsar
Outreach + Business Development
Manju S Rajan
Media and Operations Management
Keerthi Shastri
Execution
Mayank + Chandan + Ankit
Carpentry
Champa Lal
Electrician
Sonu
Housekeeping
Rajabapu
Driver
Manjuswami
Fellows
Research Associates
KAASH Knowledge platforms
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The Indian Sub-Continent
Identify existing knowledge hubs and resource centres across the country. Add significant and meaningful databases of experience and resources developed at KAASH.
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The Indo-African Project
The links between India and Africa are ancient, Particularly in the region of East Africa. Commerce and culture are intertwined to this day. This project focuses on making creative connections at the level of practice and institutions. Already connections have been made with potters in various parts of Africa.
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Asia and Beyond - KAASH Hub for Inter-Asia ResearchUnderstanding the extent to which materials and skills are interconnected across the region. Our long-term plan is to engage with creative challenges that can be addressed by collaborative teams of practitioners and scholars from multiple disciplines across the region.
KAASH is setting up several collaborations across Asia and beyond with a view to conducting collaborative research, joint development of Inter-Asia issues as well as offering residencies to skilled people from elsewhere. Compiling data-bases.
KAASH Products and Sales
A Business model is being drafted to manage the development of retail opportunities for the Foundation in order to generate income that will sustain the work being carried out.
KAASH Vision & Mission
The vision of KAASH Foundation is to become an independent research-oriented Centre of Excellence in Design [ or Centre of Creative Excellence ] supporting self-reliant livelihoods and independence among the Artisans of Creative India. Central to everything KAASH does is the commitment to supporting excellence in craftsmanship, design thinking and the capacity for skills to adapt and innovate.
The mission of the Foundation is to contribute to the development of Creative India’s potential through:
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Supporting excellent appropriate research and development across all creative disciplines.
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Supporting documentation of skills, practices and the use of materials, in the field
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Offering skill-specific training programmes that add value at each stage of the creative process for practitioners and engaging all stakeholders from the public, private and non-profit sectors, as well as academics, and young minds committed to the vibrant future of Creative India.
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Initiating the Creative India Fellows Programme – 5 exemplary makers chosen each year to showcase their work and to participate in training and mentoring other makers
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Building study collections – physical and virtual – available for research and inspiration.
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Offering consulting and advisory services to artisans and policymakers
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Developing excellent commercially viable products using the skills and materials of our collaborators and showcasing Creative India them through a series of exhibitions in Bangalore and other locations in India and abroad.
KAASH Programme 2023
Now that KAASH is developing its own momentum it is appropriate to draft the following outline structure for KAASH over the next 5 years.
Activities
Identify the 5 projects – skills and materials– for the next 5 years that will be the focus of all KAASH’s activities:
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Leather: puppetry, light and footwear,
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Surface Art in transition – current residency
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Paper: forms of production and the Art of the Miniature to day
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Stone – and its many functional forms
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The Book
Each of these themes will be the umbrella for a specific agenda of research and development appropriate to the needs of the skill and materials. The outcome will be conference / seminar engaging the key artisans and stakeholders of that field. In addition will be an exhibition[s] displaying the outcome of the interaction with the skill, workshops and demonstrations, conference papers and publications, as well as a digital record of all that took place.