A motley group of artisan entrepreneurs of non-textile crafts have gathered for a digital skill and social media workshop in Hyderabad organised by Creative Dignity in collaboration with Project Tarasha (a social initiative by Titan Company Ltd). This 10-day workshop, in its second batch now, is part of the Artisan Enterprise Lab, an entrepreneurship development program across India that addresses key areas such as digital marketing, design, entrepreneurship, supply chain management, value addition and infrastructure. The workshop features a series of related training modules, value addition at the cluster level and appropriate capital and market access.
Photography and video skills
The energy is infectious at Charminar as more than 15 ‘artisans-turned-students’ learn to shoot a three-minute video and edit it to 90 seconds at a lac bangle-making workshop, for an Instagram Reel. Post-lunch, they carry white and orange table tennis balls at Jeevan Jyothi Retreat House in Begumpet. No, it is not for a sports session but a video/photography session conducted by Pradeep Shantaram Patil, a communication designer. Pradeep has different exercises; shooting in the golden hour (the first hour after sunrise and before sunset), how to focus and crop, choosing a background where the product appeals more and use of the rule of thirds (placing the subject in the left or right third of an image so that the other two-thirds are left open).
Digital expertise
The purpose of the workshop is to boost their businesses on social media by training them to create eye-catching visuals to market their products effectively online. “COVID-19 enabled many young artisans to enter the handmade sector owing to their digital expertise that became necessary . The next generation of artisans are interested in entrepreneurship but they need the knowledge and skills for it,” says Meena Appnender of Creative Dignity, during a break.
Improving technical skills to help artisans grow their business in an online market got a positive response at their first digital skills and social media workshop held in Gwalior (July 19 to 29, 2023). The results were encouraging with 3327 new followers, 146 new customers and 19 artisans selling 529 products online over only 2.5 months, adds Meena.
Presentation is the key
As the workshop progresses , patua artist Vishnu Kumar from Kaladera village in Jaipur, keeps the company of glass artist Vishal Kumar from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, while Hyderabad-based Bidri artiste Tahir Siddiqui and handloom technology graduate Premalatha Gajam make a list of key points. “I used to think people employ professional photographers to click product photos for social media. Now I feel confident to take photographs myself,” says Vishnu. Vishal, who learnt the art of presentation, says, “I used to randomly post photographs on social media without thinking of its presentation.”
Engaging content
Premalatha, the younger daughter of master weaver Gajam Govardhana is busy scrolling social media accounts on her smartphone for a task — “How many posts do you remember from the one-minute scrolling?” — by their teacher Kimaya Balki. Not able to recall even five posts, the group gives a sheepish smile. “It is a lesson to learn,” says Kimaya, co-founder of Write Design Deliver Advertising, an agency dealing with branding creative content.
“Social media users do not recollect or have time to like your content; the content has to be engaging to grab attention,” she says adding, “Having been to several exhibitions, artisans are good at expressing themselves , but do not know how to translate that content effectively online.”
Bridging the gap
Social media has bridged the gap between creative businesses and customers, but not all artisans can leverage technology. “Many heritage crafts are on the path of extinction not because there’s no demand, but because it doesn’t reach people; artisans do not know how to connect,” says Kimaya, adding, “Digital space can foster rural handicrafts.” Agrees Premlatha, whose focus is to showcase her father’s museum of telia rumals and ikats. “I want to reach out to more people online to share the museum’s rich story and make it accessible.”
The initiative by Creative Dignity and Project Tarasha to empower and support rural craftspeople began during the pandemic. “The energy in this collective was so strong that nobody wanted to disband it,” recalls Meena on this program’s genesis. Among the 150 applications, only 17 artisans of different crafts like Bidri, folk painting, ikkat, patua, carving and glass were selected in a three-step selection process. On making Hyderabad the venue for the second batch, she says, “I wanted to inspire and encourage Telangana artisans to go for this session to be a bit more innovative and in tune with today’s market.”
Besides enhancing their digital skills, some members from the cohort get ready to showcase their products at a four-day Tarasha Craft Exhibit at CCT Spaces, NBT Nagar, Banjara Hills between February 21 and 24.
With more than 10 diverse craft producers, this one-of-its-kind exhibition is an extension of Project Tarasha and Creative Dignity’s collaboration to take ‘artisan entrepreneurs to new levels of market engagement through extensive pre-exhibition training (for product, packaging, price and presentation), product curation and display.
