Local Academics: 1. Chanjittra Chanorn (Baitong), PhD Scholar, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Copenhagen and Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Baitong is working on “Reviving of Indigo: the ‘merger’ of cultural identity and local economic development in North-eastern Thailand”. 2. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Director of Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) and of the Center for Ethnic Studies and Development (CESD) at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. He has a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1984 and received an Honorary Doctorate in Social Anthropology from Goteborg University, Sweden, in 2004. He has edited numerous books including Transcending State Boundaries: Contesting Development, Social Suffering and Negotiation (2011) and Spatial Politics and Economic Development in the Mekong Sub-region (2011). 3. Nittaya Mahachaiwong, Fai Gaem Mai Project, Science and Technology Research Institute, Knowledge and Technology Center for Northern Textile, Chiang Mai University. Nittaya has done many research and development project on technological development for textile producers. Many of the projects are aimed to transfer Eri silk clean production technology to silk and textile producers. 4. Songsak Prangwatthanakun, Lanna Studies Center, Faculty of Humanities, Chiang Mai University. Songsak is a textile historian, expert in Nan Province local textiles. And he has publications on Nan and Lanna textiles. Songsak has also engaged in number of traditional textile exhibitions, fashion shows and textile museums. For example he has been an advisor to the Bank of Thailand Museum, Northern Region Office.
Practitioners 1. Annapurna Mamidipudi is currently engaged in her doctoral research in STS (Science, Technology, Society studies) at Maastricht University. Her project conceptualizes handloom weaving as a sustainable socio-technology, as an equitable economic activity, and as embedded knowledge for sustainable societies. Her research is grounded in her fifteen year long experience in Dastkar Andhra, an NGO that supports livelihoods of vulnerable handloom weavers in rural India, which she helped set up. Her publications include: A. Mamidipudi et al. 2012. “Mobilising Discourses.” Economic & Political Weekly 47 (25: 41-51); “Saris of Andhra Pradesh.” in M. Singh. 2010. Saris of India, Development Commissioner Handlooms: 218-241. 2. Carol Cassidy is a textile artist and weaver. Educated in the craft of weaving in Norway and the art of design in Finland, Carol has committed her life to textile art and craft. Her studies with Dorg Jung, a pioneer in textile art in the mid-century modern movement and Sherri Smith at University of Michigan helped shape her art. Interested in weaving as a “global women’s language”, Carol continued her studies in development, feminist and social anthropology. Her professional career with the United Nations, IFAD and other development agencies spans more than 30 years and has been solely dedicated to ways in which artisans are able to earn a livelihood by using their traditional skills. In 1990 she established Lao Textiles, a silk hand weaving studio dedicated to the art and traditions of Lao weaving. In 2002 she assumed sponsorship of Weaves of Cambodia, a silk hand weaving studio of disabled persons in rural Cambodia dedicated to Khmer traditions. She serves as an advisor to various other weaving projects including Eri silk weaving of indigenous weavers in NE India. Carol is an active textile designer, teacher, lecturer and manager. Her work was featured at the Textile Museum in Washington DC in “Out of Southeast Asia: Art That Sustains”. She will present an illustrated talk “Weaving Art from Tradition: Crafting Survival in a Modern World”. 3. Laretna T Adishakti (Yogyakarta, 19 October 1958) is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Center for Heritage Conservation, Department of Architecture & Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and Director, Natural Indigo Batik Research and Design, Galeri Batik Jawa Indigo Co., Ltd. She is also a painter and a flower arranger. Laretna received her Doctorate in Engineering from Kyoto University (1997), while her Master of Architecture degree is from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA (1988). Currently, Laretna facilitates as Board Members, Association of the National Committees for the Blue Shield; Coordinator, Indonesian National Committee of Blue Shield; Facilitator, the International Field School on Asian Heritage, Indonesian Heritage Cities Program, and also the International Field School on Borobudur Heritage Saujana. She is a Member of the Asian Academy for Heritage Management, UNESCO-ICCROM; the International Council on Monument and Sites (ICOMOS), the KERUPUK/Komunitas Peduli Ruang Publik Jogja (Community of Jogja Public Space); the Eisenhower Fellowship and the Chairperson and co-founder of the Jogja Heritage Society, and Vice President, Indonesian Heritage Trust. She selected as Eisenhower Fellow in USA (2002), served as Selection Committee for Rolex Award for Enterprises (2006), and received Nikkei Asia Prizes 2009 for Culture, in Tokyo, Japan.