Registration Sangoshthi 2025

Dr. Ritu Sethi is Editor of the Global InCH Journal of Living Heritage (www.globalinch.org) and oversees the Asia InCH Encyclopaedia (www.asiainch.org). Her research focuses on pre- and post-colonial histories of arts, crafts, and textiles, and their contemporary continuities in design, fashion, and everyday practice. She has authored Handmade for the 21st Century: Traditional Indian Textiles; Embroidering Futures: Repurposing the Kantha; Painters, Poets, Performers: The Patuas of Bengal; and Designers Meet Artisans: A Practical Guide (translated into Spanish and French), along with numerous essays on cultural history, creative industries, sustainability, and policy. She serves on national committees including the advisory board of the National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy (Government of India), Asia Society India – Arts & Culture, and INTACH’s Heritage Craft & Community Division, as well as on international committees in Japan, the UK, and Europe. Recently, she was on UNESCO’s State of the Education Report editorial board (Culture & Arts Education) and represented India on Craft, Culture, and Creative Industries at the G-20 meetings in South Africa. She is also the founder-trustee of Craft Revival Trust, India.

Dr. Kevin Murray is editor of Garland Magazine and Vice-President of the World Crafts Council – International. He is coordinating editor of the Online Encyclopedia of Crafts in the Asia Pacific and Latin America, with an African volume in progress. He co-founded the Knowledge House for Craft, is Senior Industry Fellow at RMIT University, and International Adviser for the Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2023. From 2000–2007, he directed Craft Victoria, developing the Scarf Festival and the South Project, a four-year exchange across Melbourne, Wellington, Santiago, and Johannesburg. He has curated major exhibitions including Symmetry: Crafts Meet Kindred Trades and Professions, Water Medicine: Precious Works for an Arid Continent, and Seven Sisters: Fibre Works from the West. His books include Craft Unbound: Make the Common Precious (2005) and, with Damian Skinner, Place and Adornment: A History of Contemporary Jewellery in Australia and New Zealand (2014).

Vijaya is a co-founder of KOSHA.ai, a deep-tech startup working traceability and circularity in crafts and textile sector. He holds a background in both engineering and Management degree from XLRI, Jamshedpur India and has over 16 years of experience in the fashion sector and management consulting. Before starting KOSHA.ai, Vijaya was working in consulting sector with Technopak a retail consulting firm and IMaCS(Part of Moody’s investor service, India/ICRA)advised several corporates from India and other geographies on business strategy and planning, market assessment, and market entry strategy. In addition to corporate clients, Vijaya has advised government organizations and industry bodies on policy advisory, implementation, and impact assessment. Beyond his professional life, he is a barefoot marathoner and a practitioner of minimalism. Vijaya has conducted workshops/Guest lectures organized by IIM Bangalore(NSRCEL), Deshpande Start-ups, Radboud University(Netherlands), TEXPROCIL, CCAMP, Jain University, AICTE among others covering areas of entrepreneurship and technology.

Dr Francesco Mazzarella is a design researcher, educator, and activist, striving to plant seeds of hope and change, especially working with marginalized communities. He is Reader in Design for Social Change at London College of Fashion, UAL. His work at Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) aims at exploring ways in which design activism can be used to create counter-narratives towards sustainability, in and through fashion. Francesco’s research spans the fields of design activism, textile craftsmanship, decolonizing fashion, design for sustainability, social innovation, and place-making. He is a member of the Design Council Expert Network, Fellow of Advance HE, Co-founder of the DESIS Cluster ‘Design from the Margins’ and of the Cumulus Working Group ‘Design Education for Social Change’. He has experience in design research, education, and practice in the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam, and Australia. Francesco’s work has been presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

ISABELLE MOULIN is a consultant in contemporary valorization of textile heritage. Her initial training in Haute-Couture consolidated with Lolita Lempicka and Lanvin has gradually turned towards research and museography: An approach that closely combines heritage and contemporary expressions which has now been deployed through exhibitions, editions of books and limited series, educational programs along the Silk Road. All these achievements have earned her the title of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2017. She is also a stage designer for Esmod Lyon/Paris and the Martinière-Diderot School of Textile Design, lecturer and contributor to the Académie des savoir-faire/Hermès Foundation.

MJ Levy The dynamic artistry of M.J. Levy Dickson is inspired by the beauty she experiences every day. She is an artist and educator who has created an extensive body of work spanning oil paints, acrylics, watercolor, charcoal, pencil, pen and ink, glass, and repurposed materials. M.J.’s abstract interpretation of nature in her work allows the viewer to see the world in an entirely different way. Her creativity is the art of the possible, the fusion of harmonious elements with variations of light and shadow, colorful accents, and shapes revealed in interesting and thought provoking ways. MJ has taught at MIT, set up the art studio in the graphic design department at Wenzhou-Kean University in China, NISDA, and teaches in the Studio One Program of Fountain House in New York, an organization for people with mental illness. She is currently working on a project in India on a Fulbright Scholarship. She explores global interconnectedness and has discovered a deep affinity with the natural world. She was the first Artist-in-Residence at the Perkins School for the Blind, where she expanded on her theories for making art accessible to populations that perceive it in different ways. She has done residencies in Tangier and at The Farm in Jaipur, Her work finds, records, and is inspired by the similarities of all global cultures and she celebrates the differences.

Prof. Banhi Jha graduated summa cum laude in Fashion Design from Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. She has conducted research on the global fashion retail sector under a UNDP grant, and holds a PhD in Education. She has over three decades of teaching experience at National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi where she served as Dean Academics, Chair of the Fashion Design department, the first Head – Publication and Editor-in-chief of the NIFT Journal of Fashion. She has conducted Training for Trainers workshops and Masterclasses in the areas of fashion studies, sustainability practices in the apparel industry and crafts sector, and fashion education for NIFT and CBSE. She has been consultant to several government projects on design of uniforms and protype development. She has presented research papers at national and international conferences, contributed to trade magazines, peer-reviewed journals, and has book chapters to her credit. She has written and edited textbooks on ‘Certificate in Fashion Design’ (CFDE) and ‘Diploma in Fashion Design and Retail’ (DFDR) for SOVET, IGNOU. She continues to serve on committees on curriculum development for fashion education.

LOKESH GHAI is a researcher and design educator working with traditional craft practices and communities. Lokesh received research awards from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Indian Foundation for the Arts in Bengaluru. As an associate curator and artist, he presented the India Street exhibition in Scotland, a runner-up for the Most Sustainable Design Practice award. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University on a prestigious fellowship by the NWCDTP and co-editing a book on printing crafts. He has been given the title of a ‘song catcher’ for his strong connection with craft communities and contribution to the international Garland platform.

JAYMIN is a filmmaker based out of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. He primarily works for the Gujarati film industry. He learned filmmaking at the National Institute at Design, Ahmedabad, which grants him a unique ability to see filmmaking as a design process. He helms multiple departments while working on a film, according to him, it brings a synergy between various processes that results in a unified, seamless film.

Prof. Dr. Toolika Gupta is Director of the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design (IICD), she is a researcher and educator in the fields of crafts and design. She holds a Ph.D. in History of Arts (Dress and Textiles) from the University of Glasgow, UK, and an M.Sc. in Textiles and Clothing from Lady Irwin College, New Delhi. Her academic journey also includes a Ph.D. fellowship with the Textile Research Center, Copenhagen, and a specialized course in Archaeological Textiles at the University of Oxford. Beginning her career as a designer in 1996, she transitioned into education as a faculty member at NIFT, New Delhi, where she contributed to shaping the future of design education in India. She later engaged as visiting faculty at NID and Pearl Academy before moving further into research. In 2016, recognizing the importance of indigenous research and its accessibility, she co-founded the Textiles and Clothing Research Centre (TCRC), New Delhi, where she continues to serve as Secretary.

Prof. Bessie Cecil, an alumna of Chennai College of Arts and Crafts and a Ph.D. graduate in Textile Design from the University of Madras, is a distinguished expert in Indian textiles. With over 20 years of experience, she has been the recipient of prestigious fellowships, including the Nehru UK Visiting Fellowship, Fulbright Doctoral Fellowship, National Heritage Board Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, and the Charles Wallace Fellowship. Her research spans a wide spectrum, from reviving extinct crafts to documenting living traditions. As a prominent curator, she has contributed to exhibitions such as Batik Sutra – Tagore Travel and Textiles and Sutras – Colours of Nature, and collaborated with institutions like the Kalakshetra Foundation. Dr. Cecil’s expertise is nationally recognized, serving on significant jury panels and contributing to India’s 75th Independence celebrations. Currently an independent researcher, she is working on two notable books, A Journey with Khadi and Weaving India, both limited-edition publications incorporating fabric swatches to offer a tactile and visual documentation of India’s textile heritage. Her ongoing projects include an in-depth study of Chettinadu saris and the natural indigo traditions of Tamil Nadu, further reflecting her commitment to preserving and celebrating India’s rich craft legacy.

Prof. Rena Mehta has completed her Ph.D. in the field of Apparel & Textiles from IIS University, Jaipur. She has completed her M.Sc. from M.S. University Vadodara. She has teaching experience of 16 years in academics and research with several International & National Research Publications in the field of Fashion, Apparel & Textiles. She has served IIS University Jaipur for more than ten years and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal for two years in the capacity of Associate Professor. She has also worked on government-funded projects by agencies like the University Grants Commission, Textile Committee, Ministry of Textiles, and Khadi Gramya. Also, to her credit are two Industrial Design Patents and two literary copyrights. Her areas of interest include Research, Craft Documentation, Draping, Indian Textiles, Textile Dyeing & Printing, and Textile Chemistry.