ABACA to participate at THREADS OF LIFE exhibition, starting in Kutch city from tomorrow, Thursday, October 18th for two weeks until Nov 2nd.
SHRUJAN is a 42 yr old NGO working with more than 3,000 women artisans in Kutch. Their primary focus is to provide a livelihood to the women artisans. SHRUJAN specialises in creating high quality hand embroidered pieces which are not art but can be used in daily wear and lifestyle.
All the profits generated from sales are used to improve artisan skills and enhance quality of end product.
This exhibition at ABACA will showcase about 40 panels -- an extract from their existing collection of 1,500 embroidery panels – from their DESIGN CENTRE ON WHEELS Project – a mobile museum showcasing the very best in the different techniques being practised and preserved – which aims to educate women artisans in the villages. Each of the 40 panels is hand embroidered by a master artisan.
For over a decade, ABACA has brought the treasures of South-East Asia to discerning buyers across India in the form of exquisite furniture and accessories in a variety of natural materials like abaca, rattan, banana fibre, water hyacinth, bamboo, wool, stone, shell, wood, leather, and coconut shell.
Shrujan began modestly in 1969 in response to a famine relief project. Kutch, in the western state of Gujarat, India, had experienced a particularly severe drought. A group of Ahir women from the Dhaneti village were asked to embroider saris, using their traditional motifs but in a style and colour palette that would appeal to city. The first exhibition was held in October 1969 in Mumbai with considerable success. The profits were re- invested into the project, and so it grew. Currently Shrujan works with 16 different styles of embroidery, done by 3,000 women across 100 villages.
