Nakshi Kanta brief introduction (independent study)

Nakshi Kanta

My friend and I were discussing each other's ideas when he told me about the art of Nakshi Kanta.

I then researched this tradition more to see if i can use it to develop my project further.

Link of research - https://phantomhands.in/journal/the-practical-magic-of-the-nakshi-kantha-a-brief-introduction

Nakshi Kanta is a centuries old Bengali tradition of making embroidered quilts. It originally used scrap fabric of saris,dhotis and other cloths and simple thread to sew in patterns directly without any planning.

This was primarily done by the women in the family to pass time together and also to recycle fabric and repurpose them.The first step is the layer, patch up and darn all the cloths to make one large base cloth and then loose running stitches are used to "draw" various scenes on the cloth,depicting a story or sometimes even a ritual.

This art has a rich history of inherited skill across generations and is now being recognised and therefore also commercialised which could help revive this dying skill again.

I found this tradition very inetresting as it shows me how sustainable we can be with our clothes,how a simple tradition can become a source of women empowerment while also sealing the lgacy of so many families and their ancestors within something as personal as the clothes they wear.

27th September- Horniman museum field trip

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