Somaiya Kala Vidya Academy

The Design Programme at Somaiya Kala Vidya offers an eleven-month course that equips artisan students with essential design skills and knowledge. The course is structured with sequential class sessions and individual mentoring, allowing students to apply their learnings to their ongoing work. The faculty includes professional design educators and experienced artisan graduates, supplemented by guest speakers, field trips, and abundant resources. The curriculum focuses on recognizing traditional aesthetics, manipulating design elements, market segmentation, visual communication, collaboration, and presentation skills. The course culminates in a final collection showcase and a convocation sale, followed by ten months of mentoring to support students in implementing their newfound skills into their business and work.

The Business Programme at Somaiya Kala Vidya is an eleven-month course that equips artisan designer students with essential business and management skills. It includes creating collections, developing strategies, financial management, production planning, sales optimization, and organizing exhibitions. The course aims to develop research, financial literacy, leadership, and communication skills. Evaluation is done through sales and an oral examination. After the course, students receive ten months of mentoring to implement the learned concepts and showcase their capacity as Artisan Designer BMAs in the Convocation Mela.

Somaiya Kala Vidya offers a diverse range of textile learning activities. Artisans can learn traditional weaving on a pit loom, incorporating ornamental extra wefts. Block printing is taught with resist techniques using wooden blocks to create intricate patterns. The art of batik involves swift application of wax with wooden blocks for light-on-dark designs. Bandhani, or shibori, teaches tie-dyeing with knots to achieve a dotted pattern. Natural dyeing with substances like indigo and madder requires knowledge of chemistry and mordants. Various embroidery styles, such as Rabari, Suf, Garasia Jat, and Pako, are taught with intricate stitching and mirror work. Additionally, artisans can learn patchwork and appliqué techniques to create larger textile products.

Somaiya Kala Vidya conducts impactful outreach projects, empowering artisans across different regions. In the Bhujodi to Bagalkot project, weavers from both regions collaborated to innovate designs for new markets, preserving traditions. The Faradi to Lucknow initiative focused on women artisans in chikan embroidery, teaching them design to enhance their work. Outreach projects like Kutch to Kumaon and Kutch to Ladakh introduced design education and innovation opportunities to artisan communities. These initiatives promote collaboration, skill development, and market access, fostering the preservation and growth of traditional crafts.