Pearl Academy partners with India Craft Week (ICW) 2022 to celebrate craftspeople and artisans across India

NEW DELHI, Oct. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Pearl Academy, India's leading creative education institution, joined hands with India Craft Week (ICW), to support as their knowledge partner, for the fourth iteration of the annual event. Inaugurated by Shri U P Singh, Secretary, Textiles, Govt of India. ICW 2022 is rooted in celebrating, empowering and enriching the livelihoods of India's artisans and craftspersons.

As the knowledge partner, Pearl Academy aims to shine a spotlight on the complementary relationship between culture and education. With sustainability at the very core of the future of design, integrating a greater understanding of culture and history within education modules is slated to better equip the creative minds of tomorrow.

Day one kick-started with the Pearl Academy Exhibition centre which displayed creative works rooted in understanding the importance of traditional crafts in the modern design process. The exhibition centre featured displays from students who have spent time researching and documenting various traditional Indian crafts; having then distilled that learning into the creation of new contemporary interior design products.

Commenting on the collaboration, Aditi Srivastava, President, Pearl Academy, said, “We are happy to partner with ICW once again. At Pearl Academy, we firmly believe that a deeper knowledge of craft, history and culture, incorporated into the design curriculum can lead to enhanced creativity and a secure future in sustainable design. It is important that as creative minds, we learn from tradition and innovate at the same time. Our aim is to equip students of design with the ability to think local and act globally at the same time.”

ICW also hosted several other symposiums organised by Pearl Academy, focusing on topics such as crafts in fashion and the 4Ps of crafts, led by Aditi Srivastava – President, Pearl Academy and Antonio Maurizio Grioli – Dean, School of Fashion & Design, Pearl Academy. Additionally, attendees are welcome to participate in workshops on 'sanjhi art', 'molela clay art', 'kutch embroidery', and clay pottery.

The agenda for ICW, also included panel discussions on the 'Role of traditional crafts in Modern Interiors and Architecture' and more, led by industry stalwarts such as Shri UP Singh – Secretary Textiles, Govt. of India, Asha Sairam – Principal Studio Lotus, Sanjay Nigam – Founder, India Fashion Awards, and Ramesh Menon – Founder, Save The Loom, among others.

According to Somesh Singh, Founder of ICW and Crafts Village, “Interiors and Architecture is one area that requires intervention in terms of Sustainable homes and cities, which were core of urban planning using indigenous crafts and local material. Unfortunately, New material, techniques etc tool over and alienated materials have penetrated creating a mix of non-sustainable outlook to cities and homes. We just need to revisit these things and look at Craft from engineering and technology point of view.”

“At Pearl Academy, we encourage students to truly understand design through experience. We position them to inspect the intersection of tradition and modern design through first-hand experience via study trips and live project modules. We also encourage students to look at technology and how this makes an impact to craft and design at large. This results in a better understanding of the industry, existing gaps and how they can contribute to scalable and sustainable solutions”, added Antonio Maurizio Grioli, Dean, School of Fashion & Design, Pearl Academy.

Several homegrown and international brands, institutions, designers, craftspersons, and artisans attended the four-day event, which aimed to integrate art, design, and culture.