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Tree Of Life

A virtual gallery event and emergency relief fundraiser with 100% of profits going to Indian artisans

SHAMLU DUDEJA & MALIKA VARMA

SHE KANTHA

When Shamlu Dudeja founded SHE (Self-Help Enterprise), she did so with the goals of reviving the centuries-old kantha stitching technique and empowering women by harnessing their artistry. Since its founding in the 1990s, the organization has evolved into a collective of more than 800 women artists. Not only does SHE create income opportunities for individual women, it fosters opportunities for reinvestment in artisans’ villages, increasing access to health care, schooling, clean water projects and more.

Kantha’s roots are in Eastern India—Bengal in particular—and it evolved from a method of mending and recycling fabrics into a decorative art, depicting scenes from everyday life as well as graphic motifs. Over the years, kantha faded from favor and was mostly known by audiences outside India as a straight stitch used to turn recycled saris into quilts. The women of SHE are not only keeping the kantha technique alive, but infusing it with renewed vitality and creativity that’s earned recognition around the world.

TREE OF LIFE ARTISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Click the artist images to view their incredible works.

BHASKAR CHITRAKAR

BHASKAR CHITRAKAR

Kalighat Artist

Depicting everything from the divine to the cheeky, Kalighat painting is a traditional medium that’s ripe for modern insight in the hands of a master artist.

KIRIT CHITARA

KIRIT CHITARA

Kalamkari Artist

Exquisitely detailed Gujarati kalamkari painting, still rendered by hand in the tradition of eight generations of master craftsmen.

SHAMLU DUDEJA & MALIKA VARMA

SHAMLU DUDEJA & MALIKA VARMA

She Kantha

Kantha, the famed running-stitch embroidery of Eastern India, is taken to new heights of artistry in the hands of SheKantha’s artisans.

RUPA TRIVEDI

RUPA TRIVEDI

Adiv Pure Nature

Luxurious garments and accessories, created in pursuit of a sustainable fashion supply chain and innovatively using dyed herbs and the floral blessings left at Mumbai temples.

Rajan Vankar

Rajan Vankar

Traditional Kutch Weaving

A 4th generation master weaver from the Sarli village located in the rural Kutch region of India, Rajan Vankar crafts one-of-a-kind textiles.

ANIL VANGAD

ANIL VANGAD

Warli Artist

A folk art tradition that carries echoes of the ancient past, Warli rice-paste painting captures the life and traditions of a tribal people.

SUFIYAN KHATRI

SUFIYAN KHATRI

Master Ajrakh Artist

Sufyian Khatri, world class artisan and textile maker, carves his own woodblocks to create intricate and vibrant patterns for his hand-crafted textiles. Khatri’s natural dye block-printing studio is located outside of Bhuj, in the Kutch. 

Thilak Reddy

Thilak Reddy

KALAMKARI ARTIST

Thilak Reddy is a talented young artist originally from Kalamkari, Andhra Pradesh, a town along the Coromandel Coast of India that has long been famous for the production of mordant-painted and -dyed textiles, popularly known today as kalamkari (literally “pen work”).

 

 

Gohar Sajid

Gohar Sajid

SABAH Pakistan

Gohar Sajid is a founding member and co-chairperson of SABAH Pakistan, a non-profit organization in Pakistan that works to support artisans throughout the country.

Hemangini Rathore

Hemangini Rathore

Sudarshan Artisan Collective

a thriving artisan collective that aims to preserve and promote traditional techniques and motifs found in folk textiles from India by creating contemporary designs and products.

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