Dhenkanal: Come December 27 and Saptasajya will get its first-ever festival till from December 29. The three-day festival is an attempt to help traditional handicraft artisans develop new and contemporary creations for modern connoisseurs. This year’s festival will bring together metal craft artisans, artists, designers, art historians and handicraft enthusiasts.
The festival has been curated by Bilash Sardar, an art historian and a handicraft enthusiast. Over the past one month, Bilash and a group of seven designers and artisans have been working with six clusters of metal crafts artisans from across Odisha. These include Dhokra artisans from Saptasajya and Baripada, bronze, brass and bell metal artisans from Bhuban and Kantilo, silver filigree artisans from Cuttack and metal jewellery artisans from Karamul. The participating artisans and designers will forge and demonstrate their new designs and creations at the festival. Their new creations will be available for public demonstration and viewing on the last day of the festival.
The idea of the festival was born of the twin objective to promote traditional crafts and designs and showcase the natural beauty of the Saptasajya region and promote village tourism. It seeks to provide a unique, rich and immersive experience for participants that is both creative and educative. While the first edition of the festival will focus on metal crafts, subsequent editions will include other forms of handicrafts from across Odisha and India. Saptasajya Festival is sponsored and organised by Saptasajya Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, that works in skill development and livelihood training for artisans and youth.
The festival will take place at Saptasajya High School in Sadeiberini Village of Dhenkanal district of Odisha, a few kilometers away from the Saptasajya Temple and tourist destination. More details about the festival are available on its website and social media handles:
http://saptasajya-foundation.org/festival/
https://www.instagram.com/saptasajyafestival/
https://www.facebook.com/Saptasajya-101278651332267/
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