FLO Kolkata, under the leadership of Chairperson Mansi Agarwal, in collaboration with Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) and Emami Foundation, organized “Karigari 6.0: Threads of India,” a three day exhibition featuring 50+ State and National Award-winning artisans and handpicked popular brands, creating a national platform within Kolkata for exceptional craftsmanship.
The participating makers represented an extraordinary cross-section of India’s cultural landscape. Visitors could encounter Kashmiri craftsmanship alongside Kutch weaving, Rajasthani Shibori and Dabu, Telangana Ikkat, Assam silk, Odisha’s natural-dyed handlooms, Banarasi traditions, Chikankari from Lucknow, Kalamkari from Srikalahasti, Madhubani and Ikat from Bihar, Manipuri textiles, Dokra, ceramics, jute and more.
This geographic and artistic diversity made Karigari 6.0 more than a marketplace. It became a cultural exchange within India itself—bringing different regional identities, inherited techniques and creative vocabularies into conversation under one roof. A visitor from Kolkata could encounter a textile tradition from Assam, a weaving practice from Gujarat, a craft from Manipur or a design tradition from Rajasthan, while meeting the enterprises and makers carrying these practices forward.
For the artisans and craft-led businesses, the platform offered something equally important: visibility and access to a new audience. The exhibition-cum-sale format allowed traditional craftsmanship to enter a contemporary consumption environment without separating the product from its provenance and story. For FLO Kolkata, the event brought together four strategic priorities. Textile was represented through the extraordinary range of Indian weaving, dyeing, embroidery and printing traditions.
MSME was reflected in the participation of independent makers and craft-based enterprises. Export found relevance in presenting distinctive Indian products and techniques to a wider market-facing audience. Startup was represented through entrepreneurial models that transform skill, design and heritage into contemporary businesses.
KCC’s established Karigari platform similarly positions craftsmanship as both cultural heritage and a living practice, bringing artisans from across India together and supporting the preservation and visibility of traditional arts and crafts. Around 1000+ attendees became a part of the Karigari 6.0 which left an impact beyond the three-day showcase. It brought India to Kolkata through its threads, textures, techniques and stories, while giving the people who keep these traditions alive a contemporary platform to be seen, valued and discovered.