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Saturday, July 6, 2013
"In the Artisan's Mind: Concepts of Design in Traditional Rabari Embroidery"
with
Judy Frater
Co-founder and Project Coordinator for the Kala Raksha Trust
Bhuj, Kutch, India
The Rabari are a community of pastoral nomadic people who live throughout
the arid regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, India.
Originally camel herders, Rabaris migrated from Rajasthan into Sindh
(now in Pakistan) and back to India over a period of more than ten
centuries. Rabari women are
particularly famous for their dense, intricately embroidered garments,
household decorations and animal trappings.
The rich languages of the distinctive styles they use tell their
history. The styles continue to live and evolve increasingly rapidly as
Rabari lifestyle adjusts to a developing world.
Judy Frater has documented Rabari life and textiles for the past 43
years. This illustrated talk
will explore the concept and design
aspect of traditional Rabari work, based on conversations with Kala Raksha
artisans. It will highlight the fact that in traditional work,
design is an integral part of a
style. Based on decades of work with the nomadic Rabaris of Kutch, the talk
begins with background on the community, and elucidates the elements of
traditional Rabari style through the way a Rabari girl learns it. Bringing
the audience from the past to the present, it finally shows how traditions
continue to evolve.
Judy Frater is the Co-founder and Project Coordinator for the Kala Raksha
Trust, a 1,000 person artisan group in Bhuj, Kutch. As coordinator, Judy has
guided the enterprise since 1993, culminating in the establishment of the
first design school in India specifically for traditional artisans: Kala
Raksha Vidhyalaya, of which she is Director. In recognition of her
accomplishments, Ms. Frater was awarded an Asoka Fellowship for social
entrepreneurship in 2003, the 2009 Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished
Services to Design Education, and the Crafts Council of India Kamala Award
in 2010. Ms. Frater is author of
Threads of Identity: Embroidery and Adornment of the Nomadic Rabaris,
for which she received the Costume Society of America’s Milla Davenport
award. Prior to her residence in India, Ms. Frater served as Associate
Curator of the Eastern Hemisphere Collections at the Textile Museum, in
Washington, DC. Ms. Frater lectures widely and serves as consultant to
museums with South Asian collections throughout the world.
***There will be a special Trunk Show of Rabari textiles following the
lecture, until 1 p.m.
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