Introduction to Kantha (Beginner)
Thursday, June 4 | 1-4 PM
$30 | General
$20 | Textile Museum Members
Presented in partnership with the Royal Ontario Museum, this workshop welcomes textile artist Bina Dey, who is travelling to Canada. She will share her expertise in making kantha, a distinctive Bengali practice of quilting and embroidering textile articles from shawls and blankets to sunglass covers and tote bags.
Language note: This workshop will be taught in Bengali. Participants with a basic understanding of Bengali will benefit most, though visual, hands-on instruction will support learning for all attendees.
Dey will demonstrate aspects of the process, including manipulating the running stitch in a rich variety of ways for both quilting and creating exquisite, colorful embroidered surfaces.
While learning foundational techniques through hands-on making, participants will also explore the cultural and historical significance of kantha, a practice that was embraced as part of the nationalist movement in Bengal, and has since grown as craft, design, and art across West Bengal and Bangladesh, and many diasporic communities.
All materials will be provided. No prior experience required.
Facilitator Biography
Bina Dey is a master kantha maker, one of the exceptional needleworkers who received her training at the Crafts Council of West Bengal. Her work has been recognized with the President of India’s National award for her kantha embroidery. Since then she has led numerous workshops throughout Bengal and Chennai to train hundreds of rural domestic women in the art of kantha to enable them to attain a sustainable living.
She has also performed at many exhibitions and conferences, including the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, New Mexico, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Edinburgh Festival, demonstrating her skill in kantha embroidery and leading workshops.
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