Premium

At Serendipity Arts Festival, for the first time a “Shark Tank” of sorts for art and crafts startups

How The Brij Incubator's “Investment Pitch Opportunity” gave artisan products a fighting edge

3 min readDec 20, 2025 09:11 AM IST

A pitch being presented to the jury at The Brij Incubator's Investment Pitch Opportunity

In a makeshift enclosure in the Art Park at the Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) in Panjim, visitors are pausing over products such as shawls and diaries created not from wool and pulp but from chicken feathers: a waste material reclaimed from the poultry industry. Presented by Golden Feathers, the space is drawing a steady stream of questions: How are the feathers cleaned? How is the waste collected? As founder Radhesh Agrahari explains the process, the larger idea that comes into focus is how an environmental problem can be reimagined as a material proposition rooted in craft.

Earlier this year, the fashion brand was one of the enterprises to have received support from The Brij Incubator, a platform aimed at nurturing early-stage cultural, craft-led and creative initiatives rooted in heritage, material innovation and community-led practices.

On Friday, The Brij Incubator saw its first public “Investment Pitch Opportunity” at SAF at the Old GMC Building. A roomful of people witnessed what was touted as a “Shark Tank” of sorts for art and crafts startups, a sector that often struggles for support and funding in India.

“On its own, startups can only reach a certain level and then they find it difficult to grow at an exponential pace. A platform like this certainly helps broaden the horizon. If we grow, the artisans will grow,” said Shaun Motashaw, co-founder of Rudhvay, an artisan-focused brand that offers handcrafted apparel and lifestyle products. He was one of the five entrepreneurs who pitched their ideas to the panel of judges.

His competitors included Raipur-based Hasthkala that makes art decor and utility products with artisans across India; Noida-based Millimeter that works with artisans to produce collectables and tableware, and Goa-based Jhappi that sources from several NGOs, including those working with people with disabilities and in remote geographies.

Over the course of the afternoon, as each founder took the stage to present their ideas, some pitches received accolades while others invited closer scrutiny but all were given a considered hearing by the jury that included, among others, DS Prashant, CEO, Startup and IT Promotion, Government of Goa; Swati Salgaocar, Vice-Chairperson, CII Western Region; and Gaurav Majumdar, Lead, Skill Development & Livelihood, HCL Foundation. “The idea behind the BRIJ Incubator came from a simple realisation: India has an extraordinary depth of cultural knowledge and craft practice, but there are very few clear, structured pathways for these ideas to grow into sustainable, future-facing enterprises. The Incubator is our way of bridging that gap –

bringing tradition and entrepreneurship together in a way that is thoughtful, responsible and rooted in community,” said Sunil Kant Munjal, Founder Patron, Serendipity Arts and The Brij.

Story continues below this ad

The pitching session itself, meanwhile, generated interest as an inclusion site at an arts festival – a space typically reserved for more established names, enterprises and finished works. “India is a country of rich traditional craft and heritage, but we are losing so much now due to sheer lack of financial and mentorship support. Hopefully this forum will help retain some of those practices,” said Goa resident Priya Fernandes, who attended the session at SAF and hopes to make a pitch next year.

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More