The Dastkar Society in India, is similar to the Podmajersky Inc., in Chicago, USA. Both of these organizations seek to give artists a chance. Not just to show their work, but by providing living quarters and workspace as well. At discounted rates. In the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, any artist, be it a writer, painter, sculptor, or musician, has a shot at a loft apartment, in one of the many buildings that the Podmajersky family has owned for last one hundred years. In fact, they only rent to artists, and this has created quite a community in Pilsen, an area previously a bit rough and just bordering the notorious ‘South Side’ of Chicago.
Dastkar in India has one main goal, and that is the improvement in the financial success of their artists. Support is given to the craftspeople in the form of help with marketing and access to those facilities, as well as providing financial assistance and grant money to those who need it. The Society wishes to bridge the gap between the artist and the consumer, and they remain active in traveling to the smaller towns, and finding the artists and bringing their works into the city. They recognize and value what the artist has to provide for society, not just in the work or the goods that they produce, but in the culture they create and sustain. For each city knows when the artists move in, the neighborhood becomes more desirable. Business will boom, a cafe, a restaurant, a city park, a hotel, Delhi India will become an artistic hub, and all those surrounding that hub will thrive.
Dastkar was formed in 1981. What started out as six women volunteering their time to furthering the economic security of their artists, has turned into a a full time marketing and development organization, that attends to not only Delhi, but to all of India. And what started out as a small group of women mainly helping other women gain independence and stability, has become an across the board organization to help all artists of the country. Dastkar is now seen as a movement, helping to further the artistic traditions of an entire country.
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