Vinod Joshi as a social anthropologist has dedicated his energies to the promotion and preservation of Rajasthan’s crafts, arts, education, built heritage, and folk music – all because he is following his passion and work in areas close to his heart. Eighteen years of experience has made him a repository of knowledge about folk artists of all genres and their communities in Rajasthan. His vision resulted in the birth of annual regional folk music festivals across Rajasthan. Vinod has organised over 25 regional festivals while in association with Jaipur Virasat Foundation (JVF) and has given more than 3000 artists a platform to showcase their talent. He has mainly worked on street documentation as well as craft, cuisine, history of Jaipur and was the first person to design and initiate a heritage walk of Jaipur. He helped in conceptualizing ‘The Lost Music of Rajasthan’, a BBC film on the folk musician communities of Rajasthan, and is also a part of the film. He is part of international collaborations like Dharohar Project, UK, and I Exist – Rajasthan, Germany and has worked with international musicians like Pete Lockett, UK and toured with them globally. He is the director of Shekhawati Utsav, Momasar, a two-day Rajasthan folk music festival.
