A Deft Hand

The Future is Handmade — this is what experts will discuss when the 17th General Assembly of the World Crafts Council (WCC), an international NGO working with global crafts and artisans, is held in Chennai next month. This is the first time the assembly is being held in India.

"The aim of the summit is to create a global community which cares about artisans and respects their wisdom. This is essential for the future well-being of the world," says Usha Krishna, the first Indian president of WCC.

WCC is divided region-wise — Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. The seminar on "The Future is Handmade" will have participants such as Kenya Hara, art director of the Japanese retail company Muji, Marcella Echavarria, a social entrepreneur and branding expert associated with the fashion house Donna Karan, and Indrasen Vencatachellum, a former member of Unesco.

The event will also include an interactive session called "Living Legends" with several craftspersons from around the world, and a contest for up-and-coming or amateur filmmakers. An expo with 40 stalls will retail the works of craftspersons from member countries, as well as an Indian crafts bazaar featuring works by 150 artisans from the country.

WCC was set up 48 years ago in New York by art patron and philanthropist Aileen Osborn Webb, weaver Margaret Patch and Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. Webb's aim was to provide a more secure future for craftspersons of the world through this platform. Since then, a general assembly has been held by the WCC

every few years — initially two and now four.

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