Morarka Cultural Centre
The Morarka Cultural Centre was established at the NCPA in 1995, founded with a grant from Shri Kamal Morarka, a pioneering figure in preserving India’s heritage and traditions in a modern context.
The Morarka Cultural Centre’s work focuses on the applied arts, including design and craft, and regularly funds research projects in this field. The Centre organises symposia, exhibitions and film screenings, and publishes periodicals. It also conducts workshops that bring together rural craftspeople and urban designers.
The Centre’s Director is Sangita Sinh Kathiwada, who founded and owns the prestigious fashion house Melange where her signature has been to create contemporary design statements using traditional craftsmanship.
Examples of the Morarka Centre’s work
The Siyahi Project
One of the Centre’s latest undertakings was the Siyahi project which focused on the origins of myths and stories that laid the foundations of Indian history. Textile experts, art historians, writers, poets, musicians, performers and narrators, brought together for the first time the rich diversity of storytelling depicted on Indian Textiles. The conference provided a forum for discussion, debate and interaction, with a focus on how essential and integral it is for us to protect and preserve the colours and threads of our textile heritage in order to preserve the unique stories these materials tell us.
The Khadi Project
A special exhibition on Khadi (homespun cotton), curated by Emma Tarlo. The exhibition presented a range of Khadi wear by leading designers in Mumbai. It also stimulated debate between students and established designers on the relevance of khadi to our own age.
Mithila Art Workshop
Satya Narayan Lal Karn and his wife Moti Karn, famous for their work on Mithila painting (a traditional folk art from Bihar), conducted a special workshop for the Morarka Cultural Centre.
Tensile Structure in Architecture
Facilitated by Dashrath Patel and Sen Kapadia, this course offered 30 architects and architecture students the opportunity to learn the technique behind Tensile Structures, an approach not yet taught in Indian schools.
Children's Workshop on Indian Stories
Special workshops are designed to introduce Children to different craft forms. Since its inception, the Morarka centre has organised numerous workshops in areas such as puppetry, clay work, Warli painting and storytelling,
Photo Exhibition of Mumbai University Architecture
The Morarka Cultural Centre organised a unique exhibition of photographs of Mumbai University Architecture by Y D Pitkar.
A Craft Based IT Event
In conjunction with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai, the Morarka Cultural Centre organized a unique workshop to understand how the internet and computer-mediated technologies can facilitate craft-based activities. Facilitators included respected artistes such as Sudarshan Shetty, Jaideep Mehrotra, Jehangir Jani, Arati Kumar, Dolly Thakore, and Dr.Vivek Monteiro. Inputs from others around the world were invited through the net.
