Karishma Swali (born in Mumbai, India) has dedicated her professional career to the preservation, enhancement, and contemporary interpretation of India’s cultural heritage. Immersed in art and craftsmanship from a young age, she has built her work on the philosophies of Rabindranath Tagore and Jiddu Krishnamurti. Since 1998, she has led Chanakya International, a world-renowned embroidery atelier founded in 1984.
In 2015, in response to the socio-economic and environmental challenges faced by Indian artisan communities, the Chanakya Foundation was established. With a mission centered on cultural sustainability, the foundation supports education, skill development, and the safeguarding of India’s rich artisanal heritage. This vision took further shape in 2016 with the founding of the Chanakya School of Craft, a non-profit institution that promotes women’s autonomy and economic independence through education, training in artisanal techniques, and cultural engagement.
Through a comprehensive curriculum, students are guided by expert teachers as they explore over three hundred hand-embroidery techniques. The two-semester program culminates in an internship, ensuring direct experience with traditional craftsmanship. Since its inception, the school has supported a diverse community of over 1,200 women from various socio-economic backgrounds. It also hosts a cultural center with an artist residency and an exhibition space, offering the public encounters with master artisans from long-standing family traditions and leading craft schools. This space serves as a hub for innovation, knowledge-sharing, and an ongoing dialogue between tradition and contemporary artisanal techniques.
With remarkable sensitivity, Karishma Swali transforms craftsmanship into a contemplative and contemporary mood of expression. Over her 25-year career, she has elevated craftsmanship to an artistic level, creating works that transcend cultural and creative boundaries. She collaborated with Judy Chicago on the creation of twenty-two monumental, fully hand-embroidered pieces now exhibited at the New Museum in New York. With French artist Eva Jospin, she contributed to the large-scale Chambre de Soie installation. With Mickalene Thomas, she created large-scale mixed-media portraits exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum. In 2024, alongside Madhvi Parekh, Manu Parekh, and the artisans of the Chanakya School of Embroidery, she presented the exhibition project Cosmic Garden, a collateral event of the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
In 2022, she received the Grazia Millennial Award for Contemporary Craftsmanship and was included in the BoF 500. In 2024, she was honored with the Badass Art Woman Award (BAWA) for her pioneering commitment to education through craftsmanship. She was also awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite by France, recognizing her efforts in strengthening cultural ties between France and India through artisanal tradition, haute couture, and the continuous dialogue between artistic disciplines.