Hello there, my name is Seher Mirza and I am the founder of S jo. For those that don’t know me, founding S jo in 2010/2011 started as part of my PhD by practice at the Royal College of Art, London. The driving force behind starting this research was questioning the status quo, the quest to find what is ‘empowering’ for marginalised artisanal makers among the oft thrown-around term ‘empowerment’ in craft development contexts. After my BA (Hons) at Central Saint Martins (UAL), London, I had the opportunity to work for a craft development project in my native Pakistan. I worked in the picturesque mountain regions of Hunza and Gilgit in the north, the plains of upper Sindh and the desert of Tharparkar in southern Sindh. I was lucky to meet and work alongside some of the most talented and spirited traditional artisans. I was also exposed to a number of women’s empowerment projects by way of craft development. Going in as a young designer/maker who loved the immersion and liberation felt when practicing one’s own craft led me to question and reflect on what is empowering for makers especially women. Can taking away the power of creative agency from artisans of thriving material cultures be called ‘empowerment’ when income is generated? Why does their agency as makers have to be sacrificed for financial gain? To tackle this I used the part research and part practice approach.

Even after more than 13 years of immersive fieldwork and completing my doctoral research this critical quest – to constantly evolve methods of practice between designer/facilitators and craft communities, and mutually learn from it – continues. My own approach still forms part practice and part writing/research, and spans both UK and Pakistan. I am a member of the Art Workers Guild, a network of over 400 art and craft practitioners who excel in their field. I am thrilled to be a part of the core team at the online open source platform The Karachi Collective (TKC) launched this month to propel and progress research and critical dialogue in Art and Design in Pakistan and South Asia at large. I head the panel on ‘Textiles and Fashion, Craft and Collaborative Practice’ and will also be writing on a range of topics. Keep tuned and follow for related articles and content. I would love to hear from you if you are interested in writing compelling, researched and critically engaging articles on the region.

You can read the latest TKC article on textiles here.

If you are interested in my research, you can read my PhD thesis here.