IICD Craft Design Awards

Genesis

IICD instituted the annual ‘Craft Design Awards’ in the year 2020, to commemorate the 25 year of its existence and in the memory of people who were the leaders to initiate craft & design development and education in India. This is to pay tribute to the stalwarts of the country who have done exemplary work in the craft sector and name the awards after them.

Craft Design Awards 2024

Winners

Award Category	Award Winner
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Award for ‘Social Impact in the Craft Sector’	Suryaprabha A.Ghorpade Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra, Aame Artisan Producer Company(Organization) R.Alivelu(Director)
PupulJayakar Award for ‘Craft Entrepreneurship’	Savini Sanavaria Founder of Pashoo Pakshee Communities for Conservation
Suresh Neotia Award for ‘New Generation Crafts Person	Garima Saini Blue Pottery of Jaipur Artist and Entrepreneur
Kripal Singh Shekhawat Award for ‘Innovation in Craft Design’	Ayush Kasliwal Founder of Anantaya
M.P. Ranjan Award for contribution in ‘Craft Design Education’	Somaiya Kala Vidya An Institute of Education for Traditional Artisans

Jury Panel

1. Ms. Anuradha Singh

Anuradha Singh is the Head of Lady Bamford Foundation and the Director of NilaHOUSE – an organisation that sits at the intersection of craft, design, sustainability and community empowerment.

Anuradha’s nuanced understanding of the power of craft and heritage as an agent for social and economic development has been informed by her two decades of experience in the heritage and cultural development sectors. She was previously the Additional Director at the Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, to which she brought landmark programmes including the first edition of the Indian Ceramics Triennale and the exhibition “New Traditions: Influences & Inspirations in Indian Textiles, 1947 – 2017”. She played a vital role as a member of the core founding team for the Jaipur Virasat Foundation, an organization deeply involved in preserving the cultural heritage of Rajasthan. She was instrumental in spearheading the Jaipur Heritage International Festival, Jaipur Literature Festival, and Jodhpur Riff during her tenure at JVF.

Anuradha Singh's career is a testament to her commitment to preserving and advancing cultural heritage.

2. Ms. Meenakshi Singh

Ms. Meenakshi Singh trained at the National Institute of Design Ahmedabad in the area of Apparel and Textile Design. She has more than 30 years of experience in various areas of Craft and Design ranging from design education, outreach and training, product development, retail and others. She retired as Dean Academics from the Indian Institute of Crafts & Design Jaipur in 2023.

Besides teaching at the premier institutes of the country like NID, NIFT, Pearl Academy, IICD and others she has worked extensively in the craft and the khadi sector particularly in Rajasthan and Gujarat working with artisans, training them for quality and product development. She has worked with Fab India as their first store manager in Rajasthan and was also instrumental in setting up a Museum shop The Palace Atelier in the City Palace Museum Jaipur. Her interest is to work in the area of sustainability and development. Currently she works as Co- Founder at Khatu Designs- a home grown lifestyle & accessories brand based out of Jaipur, Rajasthan also curates Khatu Culture Trails as an offshoot of Khatu Designs. She continues to conduct training programs in the craft sector on Design and other subjects related to design.

3. Mr. Tarun Kumar Bansal

Hotelier by training and choice. Manages Arya Niwas Hospitality hotels, travel services for his family. Award winning, popular, mid-range hotels including Arya Niwas, Jai niwas, Jaipur Jantar, Om Niwas and Tara Niwas plus a couple of home stays. Also unique experiences at Jaipur through Jaipur Diaries and package tours across the state through Tours2Rajasthan. Interests range from Trekking in Kumaon hills, Birding, Reading to folk music and arts. President HRAR ( Hotel and Restaurant Association of Rajasthan) Scrutineer for UNESCO ICH project Western Rajasthan appointed by Government of Rajasthan his deep intent in culture has led him to be an office bearer at Alliance Francaise Jaipur.

4. Mr. Rajat Verma

Senior Assistant Director (Handicrafts ) Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Government of India, Ministry of Textile

Craft Design Awards 2023

Winners

Award Category	Award Winner
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Award for ‘Social Impact in the Craft Sector’	Mr. Ashok Arroju Silver Filigree Master Craftsmen, Founder & President (Silver Filigree of Karimnagar Welfare Society) SIFKA, Karimnagar, Telangana
PupulJayakar Award for ‘Craft Entrepreneurship’	Mayura Balasu Bramanian Social Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO - Craftizen Foundation, Bangalore
Suresh Neotia Award for ‘New Generation Crafts Person	Khatri Sohel Junas Craftsperson - Ajrakh Block Printing, Kutch, Gujarat
Kripal Singh Shekhawat Award for ‘Innovation in Craft Design’	Maji khan Mutva Master Artist – Mud Art, Kutch, Gujarat
M.P. Ranjan Award for contribution in ‘Craft Design Education’	Devika Krishnan Design Educator

Jury Panel

1. Radhika Doshi Kathpalia

Radhika Doshi Kathpalia practices as an Architect, Artist and Fashion Designer. She is a graduate of the School of Architecture, CEPT Ahmedabad and of the first batch of the Short-Term Fashion Design Course for designers conducted by FIT, New York at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi.

She is the founding partner of Mansar. A design laboratory for experimenting with architecture, urban design, fashion, photography and exhibition design. Mansar’s works have been published in several architectural journals from India and abroad. Since 1995 she has been a partner of Vastu Shilpa Consultants, a partnership between the two principals of Mansar and Prof. B.V. Doshi. She is a trustee of the Vastu Shilpa Foundation since 2002, a non-profit research organization in environmental and habitat design. She has worked in Russia as a fashion and set designer for the Festival of India.She has also worked with master crafts people to design jewelry, lamps and furniture. Radhika is the founder of the Mansar Charitable Trust where she has done commendable charitable work for the less privileged. The trust awards scholarships for studies, feeds the hungry and assists the needy.

2. Jatin Bhatt

Professor Jatin Bhatt, a 1977 graduate from NID, is an independent Design educator and practitioner with experience in design consultancy, entrepreneurship, and academic leadership. He has been founding Chair of Accessory Design Department NIFT and founding Dean of School of Design, Ambedkar University Delhi from where he superannuated in 2020 as Pro Vice Chancellor. He has designed consumer goods, machine tools, watches, packaging, engineering products and exhibitions. He has conceived and led initiatives in industry clusters of toys, jewellery, carpets, wool, footwear, leather goods and Handicrafts in capacity building, entrepreneurship, technology development, market strategies, design & product development, artisans’ rehabilitation and training.

He has been involved with CLRI Chennai, Pearl Academy, CDI Kashmir, NID, NIFT, SPA New Delhi, MIT Pune, Khyati School of Design Ahmedabad, IICD and IIGJ Jaipur, Department of Design & Innovation JMI University, Ecole Intuit Lab and IIDC IIT Delhi. He has been on the Academic Council of the JK Lakshmipat University Jaipur from 2019 to 2022. He is currently on the Board of Studies MIT Pune, Faculty Committee JMI, Boards of JS Institute of Design New Delhi, Dastkar as well as Governing Council of Sangraha VCD Foundation Lucknow.

3. B B Paul

Former Director, Weavers’ Service Centre, office of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. Mr. Paul was born a weaver’s family in West Bengal. He studied Handloom Technology and Project Planning & Infrastructure Management and attended professional HRD Training programmes in IIT New Delhi &NIRD.He has taught in Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, then joined in Weavers’ Service Centre as Designer and retired in 2015 as Zonal Director after serving for 40 years.Post-retirement, he has worked as Consultant in Ministry of Textiles for three years. He is presently working as a consultant in Taneira, a Titan Group of Companies.

During his tenure, he has implemented various schemes and cluster development programmes. He was instrumental to formulate India Handloom Brand and revived cultivation of coloured cotton and documented tribal textiles in Tripura.

He was deputed to Nepal as Handloom Expert and to Cambodia for establishment of Asian Textile Museum under Mekong Ganga Co-operation. He has visited USA for promotion of handlooms and has extended services to SAARC for craft documentation and related workshops in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. He is also associated with many NGOs, institutions related with promotion of handlooms. Mr. Paul is a recipient of National Award in 1991.

4. Laila Tyabji

Laila Tyabji is a craft designer, writer, and Chairperson of DASTKAR, the craft NGO she helped found. Laila has been working with grassroots artisans all over India for the past 45 years.Many of her most rewarding projects involve creating new livelihood avenues through craft for pastoral &marginalised rural communities - bonded labour in Bihar, displaced villages in Ranthambhore, tribals in Orissa and Karnataka, victims of insurgency in Kashmir. Laila studied art in Baroda & Japan, and has worked as a freelance designer in textiles, graphics, interiors and the theatre. She enjoys using craft traditions and techniques in unexpected ways and contexts.She writes and speaks regularly on craft, design, development and social Issues.

5. Sudhir Kasliwal

Sudhir Kasliwal is an accomplished Jeweler, photographer and collector. Born in Jaipur, he belongs to the sixth generation of Royal Jewelers. His love for photography began as a hobby and soon transformed into a consuming passion. Rajasthan’s spellbinding life, landscapes and heritage have been a deep and long lasting inspiration for him. Mr.Kasliwal’s photography has received international recognition and they have appeared regularly in leading journals all over the world.

Craft Design Awards 2022

Winners

Award Category	Award Winner
Kamala devi Chattopadhyay Award for ‘Social Impact in the Craft Sector’	Dr. Nilesh Priyadarshi Social Entrepreneur, CEO-Founder of Kaarigar Clinic, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
PupulJayakar Award for ‘Craft Entrepreneurship’	Mr. Ramji Maheshwari TanaBana, Weaving Craft, Kutch, Gujarat
Suresh Neotia Award for ‘New Generation Crafts Person	Abdul Vahab Haiderali Khatri Mufassal, Craft - Bandhani, Kutch, Gujarat
Kripal Singh Shekhawat Award for ‘Innovation in Craft Design’	Aditya Kumar Shrimali Apparel and Textile Designer, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
M.P. Ranjan Award for contribution in ‘Craft Design Education’	Prakash Naran Siju Kutchi Carpet, Craft – Carpet Weaving, Kutch, Gujarat Special Mention – Radha Kumari Sikki Artist, Bihar

Jury Panel

Smt. Jaya Jaitly - Dastkari Haat Samiti
Shri Jatin Bhatt – Design Educator
Shri B B Paul - Former Director, Weaver's Service Centre, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India
Shri Siva Devireddy - Founder, Managing Director at GoCoop
Shri Sudhir Kasliwal – Gem Palace, Jaipur

Craft Design Awards 2021

Winners

Award Category	Award Winner
Kamala devi Chattopadhyay Award for ‘Social Impact in the Craft Sector’	Alka Sharma, Aavran Special mention – Vishpala, Ekibeki&Vijaya, Chitrika
PupulJayakar Award for ‘Craft Entrepreneurship’	Rida Gatphoh, Dakti
Suresh Neotia Award for ‘New Generation Crafts Person	Ishwar Singh Special mention – Mohammad Saqib, Dheeraj Cheepa
Kripal Singh Shekhawat Award for ‘Innovation in Craft Design’	Radhesh Agrahari Special mention – Rajeev V.K., Dhairya Shikhar
M.P. Ranjan Award for contribution in ‘Craft Design Education’	Rajesh Dangoria