As someone with a deep appreciation for culture and a firm belief in the potential of technology for social good, I recently had the opportunity to bring these two passions together in a meaningful way during my Chevening Clore Secondment with Tate. On my final day at Tate, I organized a live Madhubani painting workshop for the Tate Volunteers at Tate Modern, featuring a rural Madhubani artist named Rubee Manisha. Through the use of audio-visual infrastructure, we were able to connect the artist with the prestigious National Museum of the UK over Zoom, making it the first ever online Madhubani painting workshop from a rural artist at the museum. This experience not only highlighted the power of technology to bridge gaps and connect people, but also revealed Tate’s dedication to diversity and inclusion.
During the workshop, I observed that even participants with no prior connection to India were not only captivated by the painting being taught, but also eager to learn about Rubee Manisha’s attire, life, and other aspects of her culture. In fact, two of the participants with Indian roots (who had never visited India before) joined us and had a deeply emotional experience. One participant became visibly moved as she spoke with an Indian artist wearing a traditional sari, bindi, and customary glass bangles for the first time. The other participant even sported a colorful bindi in a show of solidarity with the rural women artists. The overwhelmingly positive response from the participants, coupled with the flood of invitations for future cultural exchanges and art workshops, made it clear that this was just the beginning of a journey of cross-cultural learning and appreciation.
Building upon this idea, our next festival, UK INDIA DOSTI, organized similar workshops in India and the UK as part of the Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
An interesting observation to note from the festival was that the women artists who participated came from diverse religious, craft, and geographical backgrounds. However, a common thread that ran through their experiences was the constraint imposed by patriarchy. Despite their creativity, most women are bound by societal norms that restrict their movement outside of their rural homes without a ‘valid reason’. Even when they do step out, newly married women are expected to cover their faces with long sari or scarf veils, making it difficult even to go to a neighbour’s house or a local market to sell their artwork. A national or international market seems like a distant dream for these young women artists. Eventually, their talents remain largely unrecognized and underappreciated.
In this context, the technology proved invaluable as it helped our team convince the families of these women to ‘allow them’ to participate in the international event and showcase their talents. We highlighted the potential for these women to earn a livelihood through the hybrid workshop, and gain international recognition through exposure to a global audience, all while being able to stay within the confines of their homes. With the help of technology, we were able to break down barriers and provide opportunities for these talented women artists to showcase their work and take a step towards their own empowerment. However, we must acknowledge that these patriarchal norms should not be justified in any manner, and a solution was needed to spotlight women artists and enable them to receive direct income to their bank accounts until our societies and the world become a gender-equal place.
This cultural bridge appealed to leading museums and academic institutions in both India and the UK.
We began with our first series of hybrid workshops at Glasgow Women’s Library, a museum dedicated for women’s causes in the UK. People gathered to learn from our incredibly talented rural women artists gurus, including Ritu Kumari live from Bihar, India, Sumiho Aye, a Naga jewelry artist live from Nagaland in the northeastern part of India, and Lakhma Ben Rabari, a Rabari applique embroidery artist live from Gujarat in western India.
We continued our series of hybrid workshops with a variety of traditional art forms from India, each catering to a diverse crowd. Anu Rani live from rural Punjab India showcased her live Phulkari Embroidery workshop at Tate Modern, while Afruja Khatun live from rural West Bengal India hosted a Kantha embroidery workshop at the Crafts Council Gallery UK, catering to textile enthusiasts. The British School of Fashion (Glasgow Caledonian University), London hosted a Rabari embroidery workshop live from rural Gujarat, catering to students interested in fashion and sustainability. We also hosted a Kathputli puppet workshop by Sunita Bhat, live from rural Rajasthan, at the Horniman Museum and Gardens to bridge the education gap between the heritage collections and the documented knowledge with the school learning team.
We were thrilled to learn that our workshops were gaining popularity and making an impact, as evidenced by the overbooking of our Kantha embroidery workshop at the Crafts Council Gallery in London. Unfortunately, some textile enthusiasts were unable to attend due to the overwhelming response. During a panel discussion I participated in at another organization later that week in London, a co-panelist shared that she was unable to attend the workshop and expressed her disappointment. I sincerely apologized for any inconvenience caused and shared our commitment to making these workshops accessible to as many people as possible. Despite that, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction in the success of our original idea and its widespread acceptance.
We then continued our workshop series in India at the prestigious National Crafts Museum and the National Rail Museum in New Delhi, where we held workshops for school children, cancer patients, and their caregivers. It was a truly magical experience and cathartic for many, and we had the support of young student volunteers from leading universities in both the UK and India. It was heartwarming to see people from different walks of life come together to share their love for traditional art forms and culture. The impact of our workshops was felt at multiple levels, culminating in an exhibition of merchandise handmade by these artists at the Nehru Centre in London.
Every rural woman artist who participated in the festival felt respected, rewarded, and seen. It is hard to imagine bringing 75 artists from different regions of India on such a huge international stage without the help of technology. Such was the impact of partnership (UN SDG Partnerships for goals ) As we look towards scaling these initiatives to other countries and collaborating with museums, cultural, and academic institutions to provide recognition, voice, and livelihoods to more heritage women artisans, we will continue exploring areas where technology can serve as an enabler.
Leveraging technology in this manner to address persistent gender inequality issues through sustainable long-term solutions provides the impetus to persevere.
Originally Published on LinkedIn | May 14 2023 | Ihitashri Shandilya