Unfolding origami

Ankon Mitra with his installation The Sights and Sounds of the Cosmos

While every city has its own circle of origami enthusiasts, during the lockdown, such hobby groups from across India connected virtually to form InCrease, a collective forum for all those who like to fold. Their aim, member Padmaja Pradhan from Mumbai tells us, is to highlight and amplify the application of origami in the design space, and uplift India's position in the global fraternity of practitioners. To do this, the forum is kicking off an origami convention, with the first session by Ankon Mitra, an architect and origami practitioner, on Saturday.

Mitra is based out of New Delhi and is known for his large-scale installations using origami, shares Kalyani Voleti, an InCrease member from Hyderabad. "Mitra translates the techniques of origami into different materials such as brass, canvas, leather, foil, etc," shares Voleti about the award-winning professional, who is popular for his vision of oritecture, which marries the disciplines of architecture and origami.

Voleti adds that at the online session, titled Yantra Tantra Mantra, Mitra will chat about his journey and oritecture. "The idea is to get him to inspire others to take up this beautiful art form, not just as a hobby, but also as a career. We know there are a lot of people who practise origami across India, and his journey can inspire them. He will also be showcasing his techniques in a folding session," she adds.

Pradhan tells us that Mitra's workshop will be the first of many lectures and folding demonstrations that InCrease hopes to host in the coming months. "Most of us who practise origami, we follow others' designs. But there are many practitioners in India who have created their own. So, we plan to highlight such designers, along with those who have used origami in their professional field, such as teaching mathematics," she shares, while Voleti adds, "The idea is to get all origami lovers together and also propagate the art form, [as it] increases concentration, is meditative, helps to control anger and is a useful skill."

On: January 30, 6.30 pm onwards
Log on to: facebook.com/InCreaseOrigami/ (the event will be live-streamed on YouTube)