GALLERY EXHIBITION: Indian Summer
Indian Summer Textile & Stories Exhibition
Monday 11th September – Friday 17th November 2017
Indian Summer will showcase a type of Indian embroidery called Kantha, which involves stitching on saris to recycle them as usable items like cushions and quilts, alongside other pieces of highly detailed embroidery. The stunning embroidery pieces were made by a group of woman from Paddyfield School in the village of Bonhoogly, to the south of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. All of the pieces will be on sale during the exhibition.
Alongside the textiles we will also be telling of our connection with Roshni, an organisation based in impoverished Raja Bazar, an area of Kolkata which is the third-most populous metropolitan area in India with 14.1 million residents living within 728.45 square miles in 2011. The Greater Manchester Built-up Area had an estimated population of 2.55 million residents living within 243.4 square miles as of 2011.
Roshni is a community organisation run by courageous young peer leaders located in the West Bengal slum, which tackles domestic violence against women, illiteracy, poor health among young mothers and adolescent girls, substance abuse in youths and child trafficking.
Arc has been working with Roshni secretary Shahina Javed to help her address these issues, who has begun to establish programmes to raise awareness through community arts, teaching of English & ICT. It’s hoped that the organisation will be self-sustainable in the future.
Arc CEO Michael Anderson came into contact with Roshni in 2016, he said,
“Arc’s values, our mission and our charitable purpose are not bound by geography. We have enjoyed working closely with Roshni because they share the values we at Arc hold close to our hearts in what art can do for wellbeing and health.”
On Saturday September 30th visitors to our monthly Saturday Art Club will be invited to collaborate on a patchwork gift for Roshni, created using the techniques of stitch, embellishment and messages of love and friendship. There will also be portions of the exhibited pieces for colouring in by younger visitors. The activities are for all ages and a £2 donation per person is suggested. Visit the Facebook event page for more information.
We are now taking bookings for creative textiles workshops and training on our autumn programme, including a Kantha Quilting workshop.
Arc in India
Find out more about Roshni here.
We are also fundraising for an arts project for vulnerable women in contact with Roshni. Please find out more via the JustGiving campaign page.
The galleries are open weekdays 10-4 and the last Saturdays of every month 11-4. The exhibition preview will take place on the 8th of September 6-8pm. All are welcome to attend, RSVP to jacqui@arc-centre.org.
