Annual Terracotta Exhibition Opens in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Minister Padmini Dian on Friday inaugurated ‘Mruttika-2020’, the 15th Annual Terracotta Exhibition at the Exhibition Ground here.

According to an official press release, 157 terracotta artisans are participating in the exhibition to sell their products in 101 stalls provided to them for free. The week-long exhibition, which draws a large number of visitors, will continue till November 12.

The organisers are expecting an estimated business of around Rs 1.25 crore from the event this year. Live demonstration on terracotta craft will be organised at the venue.

There are more than 10,000 terracotta artisans in the state who are producing traditional, decorative and utility terracotta-based items. Besides, there are more than 40 clusters of terracotta, the release said.

out of which some of the focused terracotta craft pockets are Sonepur (Subarnpur), Barapalli (Baragarh), Haldharpur (Keonjhar), Nuagaon (Khordha), Lunukua (Jagatsinghpur), Kusumi (Koraput), Chintamanipur (Balasore), Trisalaya (Bhadrak), etc.

Three terracotta artisans from the State have been conferred with National level awards and 18 terracotta artisans have been awarded State level awards.