"Paintings, people really don’t understand. They don’t really get paintings. Quilts they do understand because everybody has a quilt in their house," said Faith Ringgold, an American artist, known for her narrative quilting.
Miles away and years later this sentiment struck a chord with quilter-trio Tina Katwal, Varsha Sundararajan, and Deepa Vasudevan, and inspired them to start the Quilt India Foundation in 2018. All in an attempt to put quilting on the pedestal as an art form in India.
After two successful editions of their India International Quilt Festival in 2019 and 2021, the team is preparing for its third one in January 2023. As a precursor to the flagship event, the foundation has been hosting a series of events.
One among them is 'The Many Faces', a travelling exhibit of art quilts, curated by Quilt India Foundation. The four-day exhibit will feature a collection of quilts made by artists from India and the previous two editions. "About 19 artists will be displaying their acclaimed works.
Some are freshers and some are experienced. The theme has encouraged artists to explore the various interpretations of 'Faces' through form, shape, design, and quilting techniques. It has also helped them to explore the various ‘phases’ of anguish, agony, despair, hope, and celebration in their life. We have tried to showcase different kinds of techniques employed to display a variety," informs Tina, founder, QIF.
A delight for connoisseurs of fine art, this vibrant collection hopes to draw one's attention to the art of quilting. Varsha, co-founder, shares, "Quilting as a form of textile art is still in its nascent stages of recognition in India and this exhibit is determined to grab your attention and hold it steady for you to experience the curative power of the art form. It serves as a brilliant tool for upcycling/recycling fabrics and a therapeutic practice to stay away from digital screens. All you need are needles, threads, fabrics, and scissors. The art form lends itself to the simplest of tools, to begin with."
On the way to revival
The exhibition will be travelling to other cities including Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Puducherry over the next few months. The core objective of the foundation remains the same - to revive quilting in India, promote it as a commercially viable pursuit, provide a common platform for quilters in the country, take Indian quilting to the international scene and lastly, bring suppliers of quilting and sewing related items closer to the buyers.
"Worldwide, quilting has reached the status of high art. We want that for India. Our aim is to elevate its acceptance of an art form in India. We even introduced a category for under 18 in IIQF to encourage children to work for their hands," points out Tina.
Aiswarya Rao, an avid quilter, shares how the pandemic pushed many to passionately pursue the art form. "A quilt, depending on its size and intricacy, takes many hours to make. With YouTube and DIY videos, we’ve been witnessing phenomenal growth in the last few years. The community believes that the art form represents the history and culture of a place and its people. There are many layers to quilting. It’s even being recognised and preserved in museums. We're doing our bit to promote the art form among this generation," she says.
(The exhibition will be on till April 11, from 11 am to 8 pm at Sri Sankara Hall, TTK Road)