A.T. Steele Faculty Travel Grant Prasad Boradkar

Professor Prasad Boradkar “The Practice of Craft and Design in Western India”

Prasad Boradkar wearing glasses facing camera

Professor Prasad Boradkar was a 2011 A.T. Steele awardee for his work “The Practice of Craft and Design in Western India.” The primary Prasad Boradkarobjective of his work is to understand the social, economic and cultural conditions of a few craft communities in India that have been involved in the making of metal artifacts for centuries. I am currently in the city of Pune on sabbatical from ASU, and am working on a book‐length manuscript on Indian craft and design. This grant will enable me to travel to select metalworking communities in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh to conduct interviews with the artisans, document their artistic practices and understand how their socioeconomic system functions in contemporary India.