BHUBANESWAR: Forty eight artists belonging to 16 different tribal communities of Odisha participated in a three-day arts and crafts workshop organised at Buddha Art Gallery by Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi . The artists demonstrated age-old traditional art forms and their contemporary make overs during the workshop that concluded here on Monday."The main objective of the art camp is to give them an exposure to a larger audience and to interact and share creative ideas among other tribal artists of different parts of the state. Besides, the artists can also explore prospective markets for their products," said secretary of the akademi, Tarakant Parida.The artists who came from interior rural pockets of various districts like Koraput, Kalahandi, Myaurbhanj, Malkangiri and Kandhamal showcased their creativity and skills in fields of ethnic crafts like paddy, bamboo, dhokra, handloom, tribal jewellery, paintings, cane and bamboo products and lacquer art."We have been making alterations in our products as per the demand and choice of customers. At the workshop we could learn many new things and also got feedback on how to improve them," said Rina Wadaka, a craftswoman from Rayagada district. She has been producing various decorative and utility items using sabai grass.Similarly Ghasiram Sheera, an artist from Mirgan community said, "The demand for our textiles has increased drastically in the last few years. People are asking us to send the hand-woven Mirgan fabrics from bigger cities. It has been helping members of the community to earn a livelihood as well as keeping alive the art form."During the three-day workshop the tribal artists got a chance to interact with contemporary artists. "It has been a great experience. I learned so many things about different art forms. These traditional arts and crafts have been facing several challenges and such initiatives will help them in surviving," said an artist.Some items became popular with visitors are tribal paintings by Lanjia Saora communities, tribal jewellery by Munda communities and Mirgan fabrics by the mirgan community.

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