AR for GI Protection: Exploring Kalamkari Art for Digital Heritage and Cultural Education

Traditional artforms tagged with Geographical Indications (GI) often face challenges to reach wider audience due to limited awareness and accessibility. Pedana Kalamkari, a GI-certified textile art known for its vegetable dyed block painting, is one such heritage craft. Current methods to promote these art forms lack interactive features and fail to convey their cultural depth completely. To address this gap, an Augmented Reality (AR) based mobile application is developed using Unity 3D, Vuforia and C#. The app uses Kalamkari inspired textile patterns as image targets, which when scanned, trigger multimedia content such as videos, images, 3D models related to the Kalamkari art. These interactive overlays provide insights into techniques and craftsmanship of Kalamkari art. This system enhances the craft accessibility and significance of the art by visualizing heritage among diverse audiences.