For hundreds of years, Jaipur has been a place where craft has had a magical quality and history, where the very fabric of the city gives birth to creativity. This craft tradition was first encouraged by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who envisioned Jaipur as a cultural capital of Rajputana : thriving with the arts, design and enterprise. He invited the most talented craftspeople from across the country to forge a unique identity for the city. 

In the 21st Century, the city continues to expand on the cross-fertilisation between design, craft and centuries-old craftsmanship. Through this show we offer glimpses of how Jaipur and its communities continue to foster a dialogue between contemporary art and design and centuries-old traditions of the arts & crafts, through two brands, KHANOOM and ARAISH.

Khanoom is a ceramic based homeware brand dedicated to preserving and nurturing Jaipur’s rich heritage of pottery and miniature painting through its range of hand-thrown and hand-painted tableware that seamlessly blends time-honoured techniques with design thinking, and new aesthetic directions. 

Araish is a brand that reimagines Jaipur’s age-old technique of lime-based floor and wall finishes by expanding the scope of the craft through its application onto objects and tiles that have a unique surface finish, and new modern expression. 

The two brands operate under Golcha Labs for Crafts and Materials, a research, manufacturing  and development center that interfaces between material engineers, traditional crafts-people and designers to solve design problems, enhance craft practices and ultimately advance the future of traditional crafts.

We showcase the adaptability of Jaipur, a fulcrum for a creative future made possible by combining hand-crafts with design, experimentation and new manufacturing possibilities; Jaipur’s unique essence is something to be appreciated globally.