The Crafts Council of West Bengal celebrates 50 glorious years with Eye of the Needle: Kantha, the Quilt Embroidery of Bengal
Kolkata, Wednesday, 25th April 2018: Showcasing the best of Kantha, Bengal’s fascinating contribution to the creative arts, The Crafts Council of West Bengal, inaugurated Eye of the Needle, a three-week exposition today at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture.
The inauguration ceremony began with Laksmi Vandana with a kantha theme by renowned dancer Smt Preeti Patel. The welcome address was given by Smt Jayashree Mohta, Chairperson, Birla Academy of Art & Culture who spoke on the essentiality of supporting crafts and craftsmen in today’s mechanised world.
The guests of honour were Niaz Zaman from Bangladesh, Paola Manfredi from Italy, Kasturi Gupta Menon and Gita Ram from The Crafts Council of India, Sharbari Datta, renowned fashion designer and Goutam Ghose, award-winning filmmaker.
This exposition, a brain child of Ruby Palchoudhuri, Advisor and President Emeritus and designed by Shanta Ghosh, President, Crafts Council of West Bengal, presents exhibits from the late 19th century to the contemporary times with pieces coming in from collectors, including the Union Ministry of Culture, The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), families of Kolkata, revivalists/designers and leading Kantha entrepreneurs.
Eye of the Needle, is being partnered by Birla Academy of Art and Culture who have not only provided the space for the three-week exhibit but has also shared its collection. The festival will be open for public viewing and sale from April 26th to 13th of May between 12 noon to 8pm.
The exhibition has around hundred selections displayed at the Academy and patrons will get to see unseen masterpieces. The 16 day festival will feature Kantha installations and exhibits, curated walks of the gallery; curated kantha walks featuring the ‘Ladies of Calcutta’; talks by eminent kantha experts, designers and Kantha embroiderers; and workshops by master crafts persons.
The Ministry of Culture has also supported this effort with 11 pieces while other significant contributions come from Shanta Ghosh, Shamlu Dudeja of SHE, Ranjana Sarkar, Rakhi Sarkar, Weavers’ Studio, Nilanjana Ghose, Thakur Bari pieces, apart from the Crafts Council of West Bengal’s own collection including the National Award-winning piece by Bina Dey.
Speaking on the launch, Ruby Palchoudhuri, Advisor and President Emeritus, Crafts Council of West Bengal said: “I am very happy to present to the people of Kolkata a never seen before Kantha exhibit. For our golden jubilee we wanted to bring the craftsmen to the fore and I hope with ‘Eye of the Needle’ we are able to support and create awareness.”
Global and national celebrities coming for the exposition are S. Ruby Ghaznavi from Bangladesh, Pika Ghosh from USA, Ritu Sethi, Mahua Lahiri with Jawhar Sircar delivering the Valedictory Lecture on May 13, 2018.
Kantha has been rightly described by Dr Stella Kramrisch, cosmopolitan art historian, as ‘beauty out of chaos’ and in each motif, each pattern we can hear the voices and see the life stories of our craftsmen.
On View
From April 26 to May 13th, 2018. Monday and 1st May closed.