Ceylon Craft Week 2026 Brings Master Artisans from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal to Colombo
The event was inaugurated at Havelock City Mall. Photograph: Newswire.
Colombo is hosting a regional celebration of handmade craft as Ceylon Craft Week 2026 brings master artisans from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal together to present traditional techniques, contemporary design and regional heritage. Running from 29 October to 1 November, the event spans public displays at Havelock City Mall and an exhibition programme at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, concluding with a presentation of artisan fashion and modern textile creations.
The gathering offers visitors an opportunity to encounter craft not simply as a finished object, but as a record of knowledge passed between generations. Printed textiles, handmade footwear and other traditional works reflect distinctive materials and methods, while the artisans who make them carry skills that can be difficult to preserve without opportunities for demonstration, exchange and public appreciation.
An inauguration centred on cultural connection
Ceylon Craft Week 2026 was inaugurated at Havelock City Mall by the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, alongside Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe. In his remarks at the inauguration, High Commissioner Jha highlighted how arts, crafts and culture transcend geographic borders and nurture long-standing bonds of friendship between nations.
The event brings together artisans from three South Asian countries, creating a setting in which visitors can view different craft traditions alongside one another. The emphasis is on the work itself: the techniques, materials and patient making that give handmade objects their individual character, and the cultural knowledge that is carried through those practices.
The public display at Havelock City Mall features authentic Indian handicrafts, including Ajrakh block-printed saris, traditional leather juttis and footwear, and natural Indian perfumes. The exhibition runs from 29 October through 1 November, giving shoppers and craft enthusiasts in Colombo a chance to explore these works in the centre of the city.
Craft displays at Ceylon Craft Week 2026. Photograph: Myanmar International TV.
Bagh printing: a living tradition from Madhya Pradesh
Among the Indian artisans participating is Dr Mohammad Arif Khatri, who travelled from Bagh in Madhya Pradesh to present the centuries-old Bagh hand-block printing tradition. The craft is associated with the Bagh area of Dhar district and is sustained through the transfer of knowledge between generations of craft practitioners.
Bagh printing relies on hand-carved wooden blocks and natural dyes. In the process, the artisan applies carefully prepared blocks to fabric, using control and consistency to create a repeated design. The method requires attention to alignment, pressure and colour, with each stage contributing to the finished textile. The result is not a mechanically uniform surface: the hand of the maker remains part of the work’s character.
For Ceylon Craft Week visitors, the presentation provides an opportunity to encounter the method as well as its finished textiles. Dr Khatri has explained the historical background of Bagh print and the techniques involved, sharing a family craft heritage with an audience beyond his home region. His participation brings a particular regional tradition into a wider exchange between artisans and visitors in Colombo.
The programme also features representatives of Madhubani painting, another Indian art tradition, alongside the wider range of artisan work presented at the event. Together, these displays show how the word “craft” encompasses distinct practices rather than a single style: techniques differ by place, material and community, while each depends on skilled hands and continued learning.
Dr Mohammad Arif Khatri showcased Bagh hand-block printing at the event. Photograph: Free Press Journal.
A wider programme for regional heritage
The mall exhibition forms part of a broader programme. The Handicraft New Creations Exhibition at the J.D.A. Perera Arts Gallery, at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, presents regional artisan heritage and new work. Myanmar International TV reported that the programme includes contemporary design and academic research in handicraft traditions, connecting the display of finished objects with consideration of the knowledge and practice behind them.
The week concludes on 1 November with a runway show featuring local artisan fashion and modern textile creations. The event’s sequence, from traditional handicrafts on public display to an exhibition of new creations and a fashion presentation, places established techniques in conversation with contemporary design. It also provides a visible platform for local artisan work, demonstrating how inherited skills can inform new forms without losing their cultural grounding.
AI-generated illustration based on source material.
Keeping traditional craftsmanship visible
Traditional crafts are sustained not only by the people who practise them, but also by the opportunities available to teach, demonstrate and pass on their skills. Public events such as Ceylon Craft Week can help make that process visible, allowing younger visitors to see that a printed textile or handmade object represents more than its appearance: it embodies choices about material, technique and design, often refined through years of practice.
The regional gathering also gives artisans an opportunity to present their work beyond their local communities. For craftspeople, that exchange can bring new audiences to techniques rooted in particular places; for visitors, it can deepen understanding of the variety and complexity within South Asian craft traditions. The encounter is especially valuable when the makers themselves can describe their processes and the histories that have shaped them.
For Sri Lankan readers at home and abroad who follow culture and craftsmanship, Ceylon Craft Week offers a timely view of the people and practices behind handmade work. Its displays bring together artisans from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal in Colombo, while its exhibitions and closing runway show extend the conversation from heritage to contemporary creation. Further stories about Sri Lankan culture and heritage can be explored through eLanka’s community portal.
As the programme concludes, the central contribution of Ceylon Craft Week lies in the attention it gives to living traditions: the skilled work of artisans, the regional knowledge carried through their practices and the possibilities for that knowledge to remain meaningful to a new generation.
Source: Newswire, Myanmar International TV, and Free Press Journal.
This article was written based on the sources https://www.newswire.lk/2026/10/30/india-high-commissioner-deputy-minister-inaugurate-ceylon-craft-week-2026/, https://www.myanmaritv.com/news/sri-lanka%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cceylon-craft-week-2026%E2%80%9D-unveils-south-and-southeast-asian-artisan-heritage, and https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/mps-bagh-print-goes-global-as-artisan-dr-mohammad-arif-khatri-showcases-centuries-old-hand-block-printing-tradition-at-ceylon-craft-week-2026-in-sri-lanka, kindly email us at info@eLanka.com.au if any information needs to be corrected.
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