Artisans Create Exquisite Work Of Kotpad Weave At Barbil Art Project In Odisha’s Keonjhar

Keonjhar: The sixth edition of the biennial event, Barbil Art Project, was organised at Arya Colony in Barbil of Odisha’s Keonjhar district from December 2-8.

The theme for this edition’s event was Kata Sarei: Weaving human tapestry with art, a colloquial term used for the weaving of Kotpad textiles providing an overarching concept for the artists and artisans to adopt for their art projects.

The project was designed to bring together contemporary and traditional artisans to prepare artworks at Barbil in collaboration with the local community and develop an understanding of Odishan traditional art as well as create awareness among the those participating in the event to infuse concepts to create a new meaning to their practice. It also aimed at providing access to the community, especially residents of Bolani and Barbil, to witness, participate and engage with the artisans.

Among the artists who participated in the project were Sunil Gawde (Mumbai), Shrimanti Saha (Baroda), Dimple B Shah (Bengaluru), Tahsin Akhtar (New Delhi), Niroj Satpathy (New Delhi), Moumita Basak (Kolkata), Prithviraj Sahoo (Baroda) and the participating artisans were Bidyadhar Mahanta (Kotpad), Bichitra Kumar Sahu (Keonjhar), Radhashyam Rout (Bhubaneswar), Chakradhar Parida (Keonjhar), Diptirani Behera (Jajpur), Kalpataru Panda (Khordha), Basanta Behera (Dhenkanal).

The artworks produced centred on multiple ecological and environmental issues, gender, modern habitation and more. The event culminated with an exhibition at Barbil and a valedictory function in Bhubaneswar.

The Barbil Art Project is a collaboration of Utsha Foundation, Bhubaneswar, and Arya Group Foundation, Barbil. It was conceptualised by Jagannath Panda, curated by Prof Pradosh Mishra and coordinated by Ramakanta Samantray with support from Ashutosh Mishra and Sumitra Parhi.