ARTISTS AND ARTISANS

We are women of the Maithil culture from Janakpur and surrounding villages who come to the center to make paintings and crafts. Many of us learned from our mothers and grandmothers to paint the walls of our houses, make rice paste designs (aripana) on the ground for rituals, and to make clay objects and other offerings for the occasions of marriage, festivals and other rituals. Many of us have been working together as artists for nearly 30 years. Our artwork originates in the traditions of our culture, with each artist developing her own style, technique and vision.

We who make crafts at the JWDC have found inspiration from our culture to make a range of unique products, such as toy goats with the handprints seen on village goats, dolls who represent goddess Laxmi, and stuffed elephants, an animal that we consider auspicious.

SUPPORT TEAM & ADVISORS

We hire a manager, administrative staff and two guards from Janakpur to help run the activities of the center. We have two foreign advisors, American Claire Burkert who helped found the JWDC starting in 1988, and Australian Susie Vickery, designer and textile advisor.The support team and advisors

INDU KARNA
Production Manager

ABHA SUMAN
Inventory Manager

MANJU MAHARA
Accountant

MIRA DUTTA
Store Keeper

MUKESH MANDAL
Office Assistant

ABHINAV ANSHU
General Manager

CLAIRE BURKERT
Founder | Advisor

SUSIE VICKERY
Advisor | Designer and Textile Specialist