Judy Frater, Founder of Textile Live, a school for creative artisans in India, is promoting her new book Artisans by Design: An Odyssey of Education for Textile Artisans in India. The special event held at NPCC will feature a talk, book signing, and trunk show/sale of textiles designed and created by featured artisans.
Date: Friday, June 19, 2026
Times: Presentation and Q&A, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Registration required. Sign up here: S26ATEX
Trunk show and sale: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Registration not required.
Location: At Centre, Studio A1
Artisans by Design chronicles the journey of developing the first design school for artisans in India and fifteen years of artisans learning design. Spanning 50 years, the story is told in vignettes of artisans who were part of the journey, intertwined with the author’s story. Through this dialogue, the reader experiences what happened, how and why, and what its impact has been on traditional artisans in the contemporary world. A rare, intimate portrayal of artisans, the book offers personal connections to people usually glimpsed from a distance and insights into tradition, craft, and the creativity of traditional artisans.
Judy Frater is an Ashoka Fellow, Founder of the Kala Raksha Trust and Museum, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya, the first design school for artisans, and reinvented the school as Somaiya Kala Vidya. She has been honored with the Sir Misha Black Medal for Design Education, the Crafts Council of India Kamla award, the Designers of India Design Guru Award and past Associate Curator at The Textile Museum. Previous published works include Threads of Identity: Embroidery and Adornment of the Nomadic Rabaris, and The Art of the Dyer in Kutch.
Garments, home accessories, printed textiles, and weavings will be available for purchase. All are welcome!
