A 4th generation master weaver from the Sarli village located in the rural Kutch region of India, Rajan Vankar creates beautiful textiles. Vankar began weaving at the early age of nine. He learned weaving techniques by watching his father and grandfather weave in their family’s workshop. Rajan has continued on in his family’s footsteps and continues the 600-year-old tradition of Kutch weaving.

Anitha N Reddy, a community-based art practitioner and researcher, has been working with textiles for the past decade and has been involved with the marginalised Siddi (African-Indian ancestry) community quilters from Uttara Kannada an Dharwad district. This socially enagaged project gives them a livelihood and makes them more visible. 

Anil Vangad hails from a small Warli tribal village in the state of Maharashtra, but his work has been exhibited across India, Europe and the U.S. As a child, he was entranced by watching his mother paint in the tribe’s traditional manner, and she taught him the techniques and imbued him with respect for its centuries-old roots. Vangad works exclusively with natural materials like rice paste, cow dung and charcoal, and advocates for other Warli painters to do the same and eschew synthetics. While his materials are historical, Vangad’s perspective is contemporary, documenting his thoughts and observations of modern village life in his paintings.

Kalamkari is the popular name for mordant-painted and dyed fabrics created by drawing motifs and patterns onto silk and cotton fabric using natural dyes and a bamboo pen (kalam). This technique of painting natural dyes onto fabric has been used in India for centuries and was particularly popular along the southeastern Coromandel Coast. The British used to call this fabric chintz, from the Sanskrit word chitta, meaning spotted or colored cloth.

Adiv Pure Nature is a Mumbai-based social venture founded by Rupa Trivedi, creating luxurious textiles through natural dyes, sustainable materials, and traditional Indian crafts. Using dyes from flowers and temple offerings, Adiv works with artisans and handloom communities across India. Its talented hand-dyers transform these materials and techniques into innovative, one-of-a-kind pieces.

Sufyian Khatri is a renowned textile artisan from Kutch who learned the craft of natural-dye block printing from his grandfather and father. He hand-carves intricate woodblocks and uses organic dyes made from flowers, fruits, and roots. His geometric designs and vibrant colours create distinctive textiles that celebrate the beauty of traditional Indian craftsmanship.