Prospective urban planners and designers from the University of Melbourne (UoM), Australia, on Saturday explored the motifs and practices adopted by the Pedana artisans in the Kalamkari art.
Twenty-three students pursuing their bachelor’s degree in architecture, urban planning and design, documented the art form at the Kalamkari Museum here.
P. Varun Kumar, an artisan, displayed the block printing technique, the historical background in the adoption of motifs, and trends in textile art.
Similarly, Kondru Narasaiah, recipient of the President’s award, demonstrated a carving on wooden blocks.
“The field trip has been designed to understand the rural art of Kalamkari, from which the students can draw inspiration and come up with ‘humanitarian designs’ in urban planning. The humanitarian designs speak about the artistic talent of rural artisans,” Piyush Tiwari, professor of Architecture, Building and Planning, UoM, told The Hindu.
Collaboration
We had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2018-19 with the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, for collaboration in academics and research to bring out innovations in urban planning and design, Prof. Piyush said.
Addressing the students, founder of the Kalamkari Museum and artisan P. Srinivas said: “Sharing our experiences, challenges, and journey with the students and scholars from different nations is a rewarding experience. Our team of artisans is striving to develop the museum into an authentic Indian source on the textile art of Kalamkari.”
