Swati Maskeri

AT A GLANCE

Area of Practice:

OVERVIEW

Swati is a designer, weaver and educator with three decades of experience in industry and education. Her passion and expertise have led her to work closely with artisan communities across rural India. Swati’s primary focus is in the field of social design. Through a diverse range of projects, she has successfully fostered collaborative spaces, encouraging fruitful interactions between artisans and design students. Through her work she hopes to bridge the worlds of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design towards innovative and culturally rich solutions. Her woven works have been exhibited in Bangalore, New Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai, London and New York. Her work “Saree as canvas” was selected and exhibited at the International Shibori Symposium at Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2018. Her design entry “Colour Play – Inspired by Rothko” a collection of sarees and stoles was shortlisted for the Lexus design awards in 2019. Swati is currently pursuing her PhD at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology.

EDUCATION

PhD (currently pursuing), Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru.
MDes, Industrial Design with specialisation in Textile Design, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad 1990 – 1993.
UG Diploma, Textile design with specialization in weaving, Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai 1984 – 1987.

WORK EXPERIENCE

INTEREST AREAS

Circular systems in Textile practices.
Place based teaching and learning.
Knowledge and Knowhow in indigenous craft communities.
Curriculum development and Pedagogy.

CURRENT PRACTICE AT SRISHTI

Swati’s current practice is largely centered around Curriculum development, Benchmarking and Auditing of courses, faculty recruitment and training. She also designs and facilitates studio units for UG and PG students in Basic and advanced weave; colour, and sustainable design practices. She facilitates Trans-disciplinary projects for Undergraduate students, focusing on social values of environment and ecology, creating participatory spaces for craft making in a cultural context with marginalised communities towards livelihoods generation.

TEACHING PORTFOLIO

RePair: Learning with and from Nature (8th sem project).
Introduction to Weave.
Repeat to Fit.

CREATIVE PRACTICE & OUTREACH

Experimental weaving, Research and writing, Collaborative workshops