Events

SACHI, The Society for Art & Cultural Heritage of India
is honored to present

Carl Pope, Executive Chairman of the Sierra Club
in a time sensitive discussion . . .

The Changing Face of Himalayas:
Melting Glaciers and its Significance for the People, Environment,
and Culture of South Asia

Thursday, September 2, 2010, 7 p.m. Clark Center Auditorium 318 Campus Drive Stanford University, CA 94305 Free Admission and open to the public

On top of the Himalayas, glaciers sustaining vast populations are dwindling. Himalayan glaciers have given birth to Asia’s largest rivers–the Ganges, the Indus, the Yangtze, the Yellow, the Brahmaputra– “rivers that over the course of history have nurtured civilizations, inspired religions, and sustained ecosystems”.

Melting glaciers portend a serious ecological threat; the eventual depletion of Asia’s greatest rivers that sustain
nearly a third of the world’s population. As reservoirs of existence, the mighty rivers hold spiritual significance and inspire deep devotion. The rivers bestow blessings of peace, calm, healing, and eternal life.

As a crisis brews on the “roof of the world“, will the sacred mountains and rivers continue to offer nourishment to
its people?

Carl Pope explores how a rapidly advancing environmental change is inducing a shift in traditional patterns of living for tens of thousands of people in South Asian communities.

SACHI extends special thanks to Prof. James Spudich and Center for South Asia, Stanford University, for support of the program. Many thanks, also, to individual sponsors Linda Burch & Rajen Dalal, Sheila & Ketan Kothari, and Jaymati & Mahendra Ranchod.

For information, call 650.918.6335
For directions, http://forum.stanford.edu/visitors/directions/clark.php

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SACHI, The Society for Art & Cultural Heritage of India and the Palo Alto Art Center present

Rabari Embroidery Workshop
Thursday, July 29, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Palo Alto Art Center Studios, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto

Enrollment Fee: $60 Limited to 20 participants Registration is through the City of Palo Alto For information call: 650.329.2366 (PAAC) 650.624.8888 (SACHI)

This workshop will focus on Rabari embroidery from the Kutch region of India. Participants will learn intricate stitching techniques, setting mirrors, traditional concepts of Rabari color and form patterns, and creative evocation of artisans’ experiences through appliqué and embroidery. Participants will appreciate concept as well as learn skills, through working with traditional artisans. By the end of the workshop they will have produced a genuine Rabari embroidery or a personal textile expression, and have had the enriching experience of working directly with these skilled artisans. Participants will receive a materials list upon registration.

The workshop will be taught by two Kala Raksha artisans and Judy Frater, Project Director, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya, a pioneering institution of design education for traditional artisans. The workshop will be accompanied by a film and introductory lecture by Judy Frater, and followed by a trunk show of Rabari textiles.

About Kala Raksha:
Kala Raksha, a registered Society and Trust (NGO) based in Sumrasar Sheikh village in Kutch, works with several distinct cultures in order to preserve and protect traditional arts. Kala Raksha’s strengths are a deep understanding of traditional culture and arts, and its focus on the artisan. Believing that true development grows from self determination, the Trust involves artisans in design, production and marketing. To learn more about Kala Raksha, please visit the website: www.kala-raksha.org.

Kala Raksha workshop artisans:
Harkhuben Bhojraj Rabari: Fiber artist and award winning graduate, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya, 2007.
Rabari is an expert artisan in beadwork, embroidery, and mud relief work. Since 1994 she embroiders professionally for Kala Raksha and creates beadwork for Kutchhi Rabari community. In 2008-2009, she served as a mentor for Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya. In 2010, her composition of “Krishna” was purchased by the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai.

Meghiben Rupa Meriya: Fiber artist and expert artisan in traditional embroidery.
Meriya joined Kala Raksha as patchwork artist in 2000 and pioneered the development of narrative art form in 2001. Among her narrative applique and embroidered works in exhibition displays include Earthquake 2001 (Resurgence exhibition, Australia, 2002); My Life (2003, published in International Gallerie, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2006, and submitted for President‘s Award, 2009); The Coming of Better Health (2007, permanent collection of UNDP); Monsoon Night (2007, UNESCO Seal of Excellence award); and Kutchh is the Centre of the World (2010, Map of Kutchh for Ilark Hotel, Bhuj). Images of her work and voice are starred in the award winning animated film, “Tanko Bole Chhe”.

Kala Raksha Project Director:
Judy Frater: Project Director, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya, Kutch, India.
Frater established the first design school supported initially by UNESCO, the Government of India, and private donors in collaboration with Aid to Artisans. She was awarded the 2003 Ashoka fellowship for social entrepreneurship. Judy Frater was a Fulbright scholar in Kutchh (1990-91), and a Ford Foundation Fellow, Kutchh (1991-92). In 1993 she founded and coordinated a comprehensive development project, including establishing a local museum through the Kala Raksha Trust. Between 1989 and 1992, she was Associate Curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections, for The Textile Museum, Washington D.C.

Judy Frater has curated numerous exhibitions on Kutchh textiles both in India and internationally. She has extensively documented Kutchh embroidery, jewelry and dyeing traditions, and served as consultant to the Museum of International Folk Art,Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Kelkar Museum in Pune, and as Researcher for the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, and the Smithsonian Institute Dept. of Anthropology.

Frater is the author of Threads of Identity: Embroidery and Adornment of the Nomadic Rabaris, published Mapin Inc., 1995. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her distinguished service in design education and research in Western India. She earned an M.A. from the University of Washington in Anthropology and Museology, and a second M.A. from the University of Minnesota in South Asia and Marathi Language. She received a B.A. from Lawrence University in Anthropology.

Rabari Textile Trunk Show
Date: July 29, 4-7 p.m.
Venue: Shah Residence, 91 Mt. Vernon Lane, Atherton, Ca. 94027
Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

SACHI and the PAAC extend grateful appreciation to Matra Majmundar, Anjali Joshi, and Rekha & Bipin Shah for their kind support toward this program.

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