VIRTUAL Barcelona

Abstract

Can contemporary adaptations of indigo dyeing by artisans, nonprofit organizations (NGOs), and artists preserve and elevate traditional craft knowledge for future generations? Is indigo dyeing in the 21st century a conscious attempt to safeguard the symbiotic relationship between cultural heritage and a better future? Can sustainable approaches offer a way to understand indigo dye’s new global cultural significance? Addressing these questions from my standpoint as an emerging artist-scholar of Indian cultural heritage now residing and studying in Montreal, Canada, my presentation also highlights my material work with indigo and hand embroidery. I integrate the history of Indigo plantations, the 19th-century uprising in pre-partition India, and indigo’s interconnectedness with the environment, society, culture, and geography. I also showcase approaches and practices of selected NGOs and artisans from India that have been instrumental in inspiring my research on indigo dye. Notwithstanding global consumerist trends that can eschew slow and complex hand-based material work, these organizations/artisans have strong potential to maintain heritage practices by fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing through workshops and internships with local craftspeople. My research uses the lens of UNESCO’s articulation of Intangible Cultural Heritage, “Sustainable development and living heritage,” to analyze cross-cultural engagements with indigo that safeguard local inter-generational knowledge; increase resilience; shape identities; and promote the retention of adaptive skills and practice which may become a source of revenue for the community. Further, sustainable indigo dyeing and collaborative and community-based arts practices – such as my own textile work and embroidery – can embody and generate knowledge for the future.