Network is currently collaborating with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal on a consultancy project funded by the British Council (India) in partnership with the Department of Tourism of the Government of West Bengal. The project runs from September 2019 to January 2020, and its aims are:
- To establish the economic worth of the Creative Industries that function around the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal, with the aim of documenting baseline evidence of the livelihood generation opportunities across a cross-section of society.
- To identify the potential opportunities in these creative industries to enhance and improve the quality of life of artists, artisans and craftspeople who engage with this festival.
- To gather evidence about the flow and number of visitors to West Bengal, both domestic and international around the festival season.
- To document case studies around the lives of artists, artisans and craftspeople with a focus on gender and inclusion.
The project is deploying both quantitative and qualitative methods, including: (i) designing and analysing the results of a questionnaire; (ii) undertaking desk-top research on the creative economy in West Bengal; (iii) analysing secondary data related to the creative economy in West Bengal and (iv) undertaking a series of interviews in different locations. The five economic sectors being surveyed and mapped are:
- Installation Art, Idols, and Illuminations
- Retail
- Advertising and Communications
- Rural and home crafts.
- Tourism
Following the end of the project, a day-conference will be held at QMUL on Saturday 28 March 2020 to explore the cultural, social and economic impacts of Festivals.
