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Tree Of Life

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

SHE KANTHA

SHAMLU DUDEJA & MALIKA VARMA

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.

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TREE OF LIFE ARTISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Kalamkari Artist

Thilak Reddy is a talented young artist originally from Kalamkari, Andhra Pradesh, a town along the Coromandel Coast of India that …

Master Ajrakh Artist

Dye block printing is a beautiful process that has been around for many years. Sufyian Khatri, world class artisan and textile maker …

Shamlu Dudeja & Malika Varma

She Kantha

When Shamlu Dudeja founded SHE (Self-Help Enterprise), she did so with the goals of reviving the centuries …

Rupa Trivedi

Adiv Pure Nature

Adiv Pure Nature is a Mumbai-based social venture that creates luxurious garments and accessories that fuse art, nature, tradition and innovation …

Rajan Vankar

Traditional Kutch Weaving

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…

Kirit Chitara

Kalamkari Artist

The tradition of kalamkari painting stretches back eight generations in Kirit Chitara’s family. His father and grandfather earned national awards for their work  …

Hemangini Rathore

Sudarshan Artisan Collective

Hemangini Rathore is founder of Sudarshan, a thriving artist collective that aims to preserve and …

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 …

Bhaskar Chitrakar

Kalighat Artist

Bhaskar Chitrakar comes from a family of patuas (painters from an artisan community in West Bengal) that have been practicing Kalighat painting…

Dwaraka

Kalamkari Artists

DWARAKA (Development of Weavers and Rural Artisans for Knowledge and Action) is a social enterprise created in 1999 by activist and philanthropist Anita Reddy,…

Anil Vangad

Warli Artist

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, …

Afro-Indian Siddi
'Kavand" or Quilts Artist

Bengaluru based art historian and textile curator Anitha  Reddy found herself in Analesara, a remote village in Karnataka. Reddy remembers her first sight of the village- patchwork quilts, patterned like mosaic, were draped on bridges, courtyards, and roofs,…

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