About
The Madras Craft Foundation (MCF) is a Chennai-based non-profit founded in 1984 by the art historian Deborah Thiagarajan. It created and manages DakshinaChitra, a celebrated living-history heritage village opened in 1996 that preserves and presents the art, architecture, crafts, folk performing arts and lifestyles of the four states of South India.
Established in 1984 by Deborah Thiagarajan and supported by the Department of Culture, Government of India, the Madras Craft Foundation set out to preserve South India's living heritage. In 1996 it opened DakshinaChitra at Muttukadu, a ten-acre heritage village of relocated historic homes, designed with Laurie Baker and Benny Kuriakose, where visitors engage directly with artisans, folk performers and vernacular architecture. Over nearly three decades it has grown into a major cultural centre, sustaining crafts, folk arts and a large archive while bringing South Indian traditions to a wide public.
Founding & Leadership
Non-profit, funded through admissions, craft and event income, grants and donations, with founding support from the Department of Culture, Government of India; the site is on long lease from the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Leadership & Trustees
Cultural Funding
Recognition
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The Madras Craft Foundation, through DakshinaChitra, has been central to preserving and revitalising the tangible and intangible heritage of South India, uniting crafts, folk performing arts and vernacular architecture in a living institution that supports artisans and educates the public.
[Atlas Perspective] The Madras Craft Foundation is a cultural operator, a heritage-and-crafts non-profit that runs a museum, supports artisans and programmes folk arts, not a funder; the DakshinaChitra museum-place belongs to the future Museum entity, while the operating foundation is profiled here. It is a foundational partner for crafts, folk-arts and living-heritage initiatives in South India. Named current office-holders should be web-verified and date-stamped.