Cholamandal Artist Village is the largest self-supporting artist commune in India. It was established in Chennai, India in 1966 by KCS Paniker. The artists are credited with bringing modernism to South India.
The original founding members were all students or artists from the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai. By 1963, 38 artists had joined. During this time, they produced the first batik fabric in India.
The collective realized the opportunity to propagate modernism via batik art, avant-garde wood and leather work, ceramics, and metal crafts. They formed a cooperative to build infrastructure, and sell their art.
The community built a theatre, studios, houses, an exhibition gallery, a workshop, and a kitchen. The artists raised money from the private sector for ‘Cholamandal Centre for Contemporary Art’
The Cholamandal Artist Village architecture is formed in such a way that the natural beauty and the design of the land remain as is. Out of the original, only 21 remain in the complex. They do not accept new members.