Art and craft of Bengal has grabbed the attention of the British audience as an inspirational exhibition ‘Gods and Demons’ presented the cultural heritage of the state in all its richness and delicacy.
Neishaa Gharat, a London-based designer, conceptualised the exhibition with Biswa Bangla, a West Bengal government initiative to improve lives of handloom weavers and craftspersons putting them in direct contact with buyers.
“A collection like this has not been seen before in the UK and Biswa Bangla were thrilled to be introducing the unique, and quite beautiful work, of West Bengal to a new audience,” Neishaa told The Indian Diaspora.
Neishaa, who is the ambassador of Biswa Bangla, said the idea of taking the “exhibition was to teach the British audience about the arts and crafts of West Bengal as well as to narrate the rich cultural history behind the creations.”
The exhibitions were showcased at the Nehru Centre, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in London, the Edinburgh Museum, home to spectacular collections of decorative art and the Southside Fringe Festival in Glasgow, hosted by ArtVillage.
“As a designer, I am passionate about the future of ‘making’ in a globalised world. We have only begun to scratch the surface of the potential of collaborating traditional skills with modern perception, and cross cultural engagement,” Neishaa said.
“My role at Biswa Bangla is this fascinating journey of discovery and reinterpretation of traditional craft skills by engaging with both designers and enthusiasts.”
Neishaa, who is working with traditional Indian arts, crafts and textiles, and promoting artisans and creating designs for a global audience, feels that the future of the handmade is about making it live and breathe by becoming part of the new economy.
She said apart from the exhibition, they also held live demonstrations in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh and the idea was to bring the focus back to the makers of these art forms.
The live demonstrations were conducted by master craftsmen, Suman Chitrakar and Shankar Das, who are striving hard to preserve ancient traditions and trying to keep the culture alive through their practice.
“Their demonstrations provided an atmospheric backdrop to the stories and tales surrounding the powerful pieces that made up the exhibitions,” Neishaa told The Indian Diaspora.
MSME and textiles secretary in the West Bengal government, Rajiva Sinha said:
“The Biswa Bangla tagline ‘Where the world meets Bengal’ says it all. The most exciting part of the events are the live shows by artisans Suman Chitrakar and Shankar Das.”
The aim of Biswa Bangla is to encourage innovation, provide design assistance, open direct sales points and improve quality and supply chains for the handloom and handicraft products of the state, he said.
Through its efforts, it impacts the livelihoods of 10,000 craft families.
The exhibition was titled ‘Gods and Demons’ as it focused on two aspects — Mukhosh making and Patachitra.
Mukhosh (mask) making is an ancient craft form that dates back centuries, she said, adding that though a craft shared throughout Bengal, the masks are fiercely individual.
Each region utilises different techniques to create their individual Mukhosh, and the materials used are just as diverse as the state of Bengal.
Patachitra is a visual storytelling style takes the form of painted scrolls, depicting sequential scenes from stories, legends and myths, she said, adding that what makes modern Patachitras so enchanting is their ability to portray important social themes and the demons of our day, like gender inequality, child marriage and climate change whilst staying true to the ancient and mesmerising style.
Just as mask makers make use of nature in their work, Patachitra artists make their paints from natural colours from locally available flowers, leaves, fruits and other natural materials.
She said the exhibition left a lasting impression on the UK audience and received tremendous response.
To keep the beautiful spirit of the London exhibition alive we have created a visual archive of the exhibits so that you can relive the beauty of the arts and crafts. Also experience our eclectic opening reception evening in London.