Odisha Craft Odyssey Announces Third Residency On Dokra Craft

The third edition focuses on the Dokra craft traditions of Odisha, bringing together artists and researchers to study the craft’s techniques, material knowledge and cultural context through field engagement in Sadeibereni, Dhenkanal.

Bhubaneswar, Odisha: Odisha Craft Odyssey (OCO) has announced the third edition of its 2026 Residency Programme, focusing on Odisha's Dokra craft traditions. The programme will centre on Sadeibereni in Dhenkanal district, a significant craft cluster known for its Dokra metal-casting practice, bringing together artists, researchers, designers and cultural practitioners to engage with the craft through field research, documentation and collaborative exploration.

The residents for the third edition are Tejal Kawachi, a visual artist and photographer whose practice explores identity, memory and labour; Dr Reema K, an independent researcher specialising in visual culture, ethnography and contemporary South Asian art; and Muskaan Singh, a contemporary artist whose work explores women’s labour through visual art, literature and vernacular idioms.

The research will involve field visits, conversations with artisans, and documentation of Dokra-making processes, tools, materials and techniques. Through field notes, photography and other research-based methods, the residents will explore the social, cultural, historical and aesthetic contexts of the craft, examining the relationship between artisanal knowledge, labour and community identity.

“Building upon the success of our first two editions, Odisha Craft Odyssey is expanding its research framework to look far beyond the finished object at the histories and knowledges of making. For our upcoming residency focused on Dokra, we aim to investigate the deeper narratives surrounding the craft. Through this research, residents from diverse fields will explore histories of migration, material trajectories, and communal splits, examining how these shifts birth new aesthetic languages and expressions of cultural longing,” said Sibdas Sengupta, Curator, Odisha Craft Odyssey.

Speaking about the vision behind the residency, Sandeep Hota, Co-founder and Managing Director, BEADS, and Advisory Board Member, Odisha Craft Odyssey (OCO), said, “Dokra as a craft is celebrated, documented and increasingly attracting the attention of designers who value its versatility and potential to create contemporary objects. It also shares a history with several neighbouring states. Through the third edition of Odisha Craft Odyssey, we aim to explore the craft through new lenses and perspectives that have remained relatively untapped. The multidisciplinary team assembled to study the work of master craftspeople in Sadeibareni will engage with these questions, and we look forward to seeing the outcomes of this collaboration come together in an immersive exhibition in November.”

The residency will culminate in an exhibition from 27 November to 7 December 2026 at Lalit Kala Akademi, Bhubaneswar. Presenting outcomes from the residents’ research, field documentation and artistic explorations, the exhibition will bring the histories and practices of the Dokra craft community into dialogue with contemporary artistic perspectives.

Through its residency programme, OCO continues its commitment to documenting Odisha’s diverse craft traditions and fostering interdisciplinary engagement that recognises craft as an integral part of artistic practice and cultural history.

About Odisha Craft Odyssey (OCO)

Odisha Craft Odyssey is a multi-year documentation and survey project investigating diverse craft practices across Odisha. Through residencies, research, publications and exhibitions, OCO brings craftspeople into dialogue with artists, designers, researchers and cultural practitioners. Its work challenges conventional hierarchies between fine arts and crafts and recognises craft practices as integral to cultural history, education, and contemporary artistic discourse.