AWE Artisan Women Empowerment

August September 2021. Combatting Lockdown

A series conceptualised by the WICCI Art Community. A series of conversations with women artists and artisans who have walked the mile, maybe struggled with openings in men’s domains. Broken glass ceilings, walked the talk and have made a mark. Inspiring.

The list of talks held every Thursday at 7 pm commenced on the 12th and the last one, the 8th was on the 30th. The women artisans were interviewed by the WBLAC members who prepped themselves on maybe unfamiliar terrains to make the talks rounded and informative. They asked the right questions. These were anchored by Ms Vibha Mitra

Sportsmanship at its best.  Anisha  voluntarily made all the creatives and was very prompt. In fact when Anisha realised she would not be able to interview  Indrani Burman due to her language handicap, Srabasti stepped in very willingly. The spirit was praiseworthy.

Date Interviewer

WICCI Member

 Interviewee  
12th August 2021 Ipsita Ganguli

 

Poet, entrepreneur

 Monalisa Dey

 

Artist
19th August 2021 Paramita Ghosh

 

Communications PR

 Dipannita Acharya

 

Bairagi, Baul Singer
26th August 2021 Kathakali Jana

Dance / Journalist

 Soma Giri

 

Choreographer, Movement Artist
2nd September 2021 Aban Desai

 

Gallerist

 Sipra Bhattacharya

 

Artist
9th September 2021 Kathakali Jana

 

Dance Journalist

 

 

 Shubha Bangur

 

Psychotherapy with dance
16th September 2021 Srabasti Ghosh

 

Media

 Indrani Burman

 

Artist
23rd September 2021 Vani Chawla

 

Artist

 Sutapa Khan

 

Artist
30th September 2021 Shamayita Chakravorty

 

Journalist

 China Pal

 

Idol Maker from Kumartulli

 

 

Some observations of note apart from the usual commendations

Ipsita – Takeaway from my talk was the concern Monalisa raised about Nepotism. So my thought is what can WICCI do to select and promote talent in a free fair way

Paramita Ghosh Candid: A superb lockdown idea indeed! Planned and executed to perfection by the team! Kudos to you Vibha and to each member of WBALC. My experience of interacting with renowned folk singer Dipannita Acharya – I learnt a lot about how the artists have survived the pandemic by upping their technological knowledge and have adapted to the current needs of online performances. The media feedback has also been very encouraging. I look forward to many such engaging sessions in the near future!

Kathakali Jana: I think technology was a matter for major concern. I personally had problems with it. More familiarity with the platform will make it easier for tech challenged people like us. Your suggestion about visuals would have helped immensely. Without it, some of the conversations were a bit bland. After all, not everybody is equally articulate

Aban Desai: My feedback is that it was an offbeat lockdown idea to speak with an artist/artisan and hear their story of struggle, especially as women. Maybe there weren’t too many viewers at the time of the talk. Maybe there were some small glitches. But the sessions have been recorded and they have set a standard and a format for many more such talks. Each artist was special and inspiring. Each session was lively. A great initiative. 👍👍

As Moderator some of my notes

  • The technical platform has glitches due to internet etc. The artists have problems with connectivity and expertise issues but managed to somehow circumvent these. So maybe prerecording and streaming it live may be a good option
  • The timings were an issue because of which the last one with Parvathy Baul was cancelled. As she was travelling and in Sweden with different timelines. Again prerecording is definitely an option.
  • Including clips and live performances or demos will make the programme more versatile
  • Language is definitely a barrier for the audience too. We have to come to a consensus about resolving this issue

 

Regards

Vibha Mitra