From Bengal Weaves to French Blues

On October 25th, Bappa (Bappaditya) Biswas delivered his lecture When we work with Weavers. He described his childhood growing up as the only son in a joint family with the heavy expectation that he would take over the family plantation of tea and pineapple in Bengal. Bappa kept getting away, however, and he made the decision to work with handweavers as part of his formal education in the arts. It was not an easy beginning - the weavers would have to turn down paid work in order to commit to Bappa's project and few were willing to do so. Eventually, Bappa found one weaver who was willing to take that chance - a skilled weaver who had polio when he was young. He could not weave as quickly as the others but he was knowledgeable and willing to experiment.

Bappa now has several families working from their homes. "we must be very careful before we take someone on" he said. "because we commit to providing employment throughout the year." Bappa also gave a short history of the region and explained how weaving communities were formed and migrated. The question and answer session was lively and the audience appreciated the generous spirit and humour which came through in Bappa's talk.


On October 26th Denise Lambert spoke about the revival of Woad by Bleu de Lectoure. This european blue has been found on the shutters of stone farmhouses in the south of France. The paint was centuries old yet it held its colour - retaining a hue that the French know as pastel. It took more than two years working with chemists from the University of Toulouse for the Lamberts to uncover the original fermentation, extraction, and dyeing processes to get blues from the woad plant. In an antiques store one day, fate helped them out: they stumbled upon a notebook that belonged to Napoleon’s chemist.

Denise gave a fast paced lecture that packed a substantial amount of information into her time on stage. After her presentation Denise called Henri up to explain some of the chemistry. He was also able to talk about the incorporation of woad pigment into plastics and other media. The couple appeared completely attired in woad dyed clothing - down to Henri's eyeglass frames.

The Slow Clothes Fashion Show

Slow clothes are a journey in the making. Tonight we will showcase four compass points on that journey. Each maker that we will feature is in full stride – with one foot in the traditional territory of the past and one foot already placed in the optimistic landscape of the future.

Before we travel through the four quadrants of tonight’s world, let me first introduce you to the ideas behind slow clothes.

Slow clothes are both an objective and a garment. We might call slow clothes "humanist" clothing because of the concern for the people in every stage of production. When we make slow clothes we begin with the source fibers. If it is a wool, fleece, silk or hair we ask what animals provide it. Who are the farmers? How and where is the farming done? What is the relationship of the farmers to the local communities. When we harvest a plant fiber we seek to know how it is grown. It is an eye-opener to do any research into conventional cotton. Equally it is inspirational to visit an organic cotton farmer.

These fibers are transformed into thread. Already they have set themselves apart from other fibers. The human hand can accommodate the unique character of these fibers. In contrast fibers which are processed by machine must meet the demands of the machine. Usually this means only one variety of cotton or silk.

When these fibers are woven or knitted into cloth and garments, once again, the slowness of hand production permits a variety of techniques which are impossible with high speed power looms.

In the cases when the cloth is block printed, stitched, embroidered, appliquéd, tie died, batiked, it becomes more remarkable still. The cloth may become rare and take on a singular beauty through being coloured by a single dye. And so in the end we have a garment which, even though it is commendable as a thing in itself, for it’s design, the cut and detail of its style, is really remarkable because is has a voice and tells the stories of its own making.

It is part of a community of makers, farmers, planters and artisans. IT brings these communities together in a dance of combinations that ends with you. You. Each and every person in the audience tonight. By simply being in this audience you have issued the command that has gone from the designers to the tailors to the sewers to the blockprinters to the maker of dyes, to the farmer of fibers. You are part of something greater than you may ever know.


Maiwa
These garments represent our deep commitment to artisans, hand embellishment and pattern. We believe that these clothes speak of the wisdom of the sensual world.



Bleu de Lectoure
For centuries the French perfected woad blues. They referred to this colour as an “ennoblement” not as a dye, because they believed that the colour ennobled the fabric. Today woad has been revived by the team of Henri and Denise Lambert. The subtle shades of pastel blue are once again living up to their nobel past.



Qiviuk
Hand spun from the downy undercoat of the Arctic musk ox, the knowledge and skill to spin qiviuk exists in the traditional cultures of Peru. A heritage of working with Guanaco, Vicuña, and Alpacca has resulted in a combination of talents that reaches across hemispheres.




Bai Lou
Known since roman times for their unsurpassed skill at spinning and handloom, the artisans of Bengal make weaving a part of each day. As one walks a pathway through the verdant landscape, the sound of flying shuttles comes from every home. Bappa Biswas works alongside artisans to collaborate on the designs of these exquisite pieces.

The day before the big show

October 23rd was the rehearsal. The stylists were styling, the band was rehearsing, the dancers were dancing, the choreographer was guiding, the garments were adjusted ... it was a very busy place. During all this we did a quick set-up and took some photos of the dancers in the Bai Lou outfits. Bappa was there to check everything. The energy was amazing and it was a good indication that we had the makings for the best fashion show yet - the Slow Clothes Fashion Show.

Photos from the Ichhamati event

On Thursday October 22nd, Bappaditya (Bappa) Biswas presented On the Banks of the Ichhamati. The woven textiles told the story of the famous blue mutiny - an uprising caused by British planters forcing the peasant population to grow indigo rather than food. Bappa spoke eloquently on Bengal, its history and weaving traditions. It was our first exhibition held at our new exhibition space in Maiwa East. Attendance was good and the space was full. Music was provided by Red Light Monastery. Here are some photos from the event.

Wild and Rare Fibers

Last night was our live video conference with the Jawaja artisans - it was a pivotal event but before we get to that post we need to catch up on a couple of lecture reviews.

Wild Fibres
Linda Cortright

On Thursday October 22, Linda Cortright gave her lecture Wild Fibers. Linda focused on cashmere goats and her travels to the Himalayas. She gave wonderful detail on some of the social aspects of the animals - few of us knew that goats were kept from freezing to death through the addition of sheep to the flock. Linda also told us everything we wanted to know about the fibers themselves - down to the width in microns. She talked about her travels generally, about offers of live goats to take home, about how many cups of butter tea she could drink to be hospitable and about how to stay warm in the desperate cold. Linda also explaned how she started Wild Fibers magazine - the very first issue of which focused on qiviuk - the subject of the next evenings lecture ...




Working Across Hemispheres: Arctic Fibre and Peruvian Weaves
Fernando Alvarez

On Friday the 23rd the hall was filled again to hear from Fernando Alvares. Fernando was born in Peru, moved to Canada, and saw an opportunity to interact with the Inuit to collect the downy underhairs of the Arctic musk ox known as Qiviuk. These he took back to peru where he met with traditional Andean spinners and knitters to spin the fiber (sometimes in combination with guanaco and vicuña). During the question and answer period Fernando introduced Marcelina Charri and Maria Lima who travelled from Peru to teach their workshop. The audience asked: given how many fibers the women had worked with, which was their favourite? The answer without hesitation - qiviuk.



Warped up ...

Tonight Elizabeth Barber delivers her lecture - Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years. (sold out) and tomorrow night we are pleased to present Bridging Cultures Through Design: The Importance of Place with Mimi Robinson.

Visa denial makes waves in India

The denial of a visa by the Canadian High Commission to Indian dignitary Ashoke Chatterjee is making waves in India. On Sunday October 25 India's paper DNA ran a quarter page article on the situation. In addition we have received a number of letters expressing support for both the symposium and the artisans and outrage at the denial. The Jawaja presentation will still take place via a special video conference set-up.

Here is a link to the original and the full text of the article:



Denied visa, artisans miss global meet

Canadian high commission refuses permission to AAJ members citing lack of legitimate business purpose

DNA Correspondent

The achievements of artisans from a hamlet Jawaja in Ajmer district of Rajasthan went in vain when their team accompanied by former director national Institute of Design, Ashoke Chatterjee was denied visas to attend global Maiwa symposiusm being organised in Vancouver by the Maiwa foundation.

The symposium, opened on October 19, provides a platform for craft development and allows craft artisans to display their talent.

According to Chatterjee, the Canadian authorities in Delhi stated that visas were denied due to lack of "legitimate business purpose".

The group belonging to Artisan Alliance of Jawaja (AAJ) had been invited to share three decades of development experience through an experiment that is globally acknowledged for its significance and has had an influence well beyond craft sector.

The artisans, who were scheduled to attend the symposium, are disappointed as they lost a golden opportunity to show their talent globally.

"We have worked for 30 years to develop and hone this art but a lifetime opportunity is lost for not-so-strong a point. We fulfiled all formalities for issuing of visa but the authorities denied it," said Sukhdev Bhatt, a leather craftsman with Artisan Alliance of Jawaja.

One representative each from the leather group and the weaver group of the alliance were to attend the symposium.

Now, with the help of some groups in Canada, the artisans have been allowed to participate in the symposium through a video conferencing to be held on October 28 at IIMA's Ravi J Matthai Centre in Ahmedabad. Nearly six members of both leather and weaver groups of the alliance are planning to participate in the video conferencing and recover some loss of opportunity.
The AAJ has been recognised as a remarkable development effort over last three decades and its artisans are known for linking traditional craft skills with contemporary opportunities and demonstrating ability of the poorest to work for change.

Chatterjee rued that visa rejection is symbolic of both neglect of crafts at high level of decision making worldwide and enormous gap between the rhetoric of donor nations and what they can actually deliver on the ground level.

Sheila Paine

Sheila Paine, who presented her talk on October 20th. Handed us a letter the other day. She has kindly granted us permission to reprint it here.

October 22, 2009
Dear Charllotte

I was very moved by Ashoke Chatterjee's talk last night, both by what he told us of the plight of Indian craftsmen and by the whole story of the power of politicians in preventing him coming to Canada.

I was also last night that I realized what a great achievement Maiwa is. You have a lot to be proud of and I feel really priviledged to have been invited to take part in your symposium - it is very much more than just the textile gathering I had presumed it to be.

I send my congratulations on all your work and my best wishes for the future of Maiwa. I am greatly enjoying the symposium and thank you for all your kind hospitality.

Shelia Paine

The Real Barriers to Trade

We run here Charllotte Kwon's introduction to Ashoke Chatterjee's presentation From Gandhi to Globalization: Craft and Human Development. Those of you who were at the lecture will understand why. Those who could not attend, please read on...

It is perhaps one of the proudest moments of my life to be able to introduce Ashoke Chatterjee as a presenter in the Maiwa Textile Symposium. Ashoke is one of the most eloquent voices for craft and artisans that we have ever known. He is both an activist and has a great presence which commands attention. He has clarity that guides and gently corrects us. Be we makers, farmers, or traders. He helps us find our own clarity and we rediscover why we do what we do.

At this point in holding our fifth symposium I deeply needed him to share his perspective on this symposium and I wanted the audience to be exposed to his ideas. He is direct and honest. I wanted him to give his opinion on the value of the symposium. I was prepared for one of two answers: Yes this has a great impact and is of importance to the survival of craft. No, Charllotte, your energy could be better spent elsewhere.

But it is with great sadness, frustration and a building anger that I must tell you that he cannot be here in person.

As many of you may know it is difficult to get Canadian visa’s for Indian artisans. We understand that there are many bureaucratic hoops and much paperwork involved in this process. But we have persevered over the years and been successful in bringing weavers from Bengal, embroiderers from the Kutch Desert, and blockprinters from Bagru and Kutch.

We begin this process in April in order to ensure a visa by October. We anticipate at least three rejections. You should know what is in the “Binder” that we provide for ALL artisans visiting from outside Canada. Three years of financial statements for Maiwa, letters from the Vancouver Museum, Welcome letters from the Governor General of Canada, The Minister of Culture, The Mayor of Vancouver. Three years of past Symposium books, promotional materials etc. The binder is about two inches thick when complete. We send a binder like that for each and every person we hope to visit Canada.

We were, however, quite shocked then when we were told that Mr. Ashoke Chatterjee, a man with impeccable credentials was denied a visa for entry to Canada. Mr Chatterjee spent 25 years as head of the India’s NID - National Institute of Design. He has been involved with institutional development at Shristi School of Design (Bangalore), Indus Valley School of Design and Architecture (Karachi), Royal College of Art (UK). He has been the director of Crafts Council of India and is currently honourary advisor. He holds a current US visa, a current UK visa and an expired Canadian visa.

The reasons given by the Canadian Government are that Mr Chatterjee has no business ties to Canada. Neither is the Maiwa Symposium considered a "legitimate business purpose." The denial is final and not open to appeal.

We had hoped to read welcoming letters sent to us from the Governor General of Canada and other political representatives and dignitaries. However, after this shocking and farcical refusal, we are too ashamed and embarrassed to accord that honour to a representative of the Canadian Government. The farce deepens when we read recent reports of the Canadian Government’s attempts to increase trade with India and Prime Minister Harper’s pending visit of November of this year.

We had gone through the application for the two Jawaja artisans – one a weaver and one a leatherworker. We knew this would be a challenge and were prepared. We’ve gone through three applications. Maiwa and the artisans met every question with an accepted answer and we both met every requirement - but still the application was denied.

This lecture tonight is really in two parts. To really understand the full scope of what is happening you must come back on the 27th to the Jawaja lecture. In my opinion this whole symposium is incomplete without the voice of the Jawaja group. It is, after all, for the artisans that we even have these discussions.

They have worked now for over a year preparing a workshop and a presentation. Next Tuesday when you will be priviledged to witness the multimedia presentation that they had hoped to present while they sat among us. This was created in collaboration with a team of NID students. This is part of their story. In addition they have prepared a lecture and samples of their work.
For the Jawaja group this was literally the opportunity of a lifetime. The first time ever that they were able to tell their story themselves.

We have organized a video conference solution to these problems. We have had a fantastic symposium thus far. We are mustering our strengths to overcome these difficulties. And I, personally am making a plea. We have all enjoyed an amazing program so far – we have learned, been moved, changed, been inspired, now I am asking you to come and support the Jawaja artisans next Tuesday. Tell your friends, tell your family, advocate. I assure you, you will not be disappointed – both tonight and the 27th will be very special evenings.

These are the issues of human development and trade. We are not speaking in the abstract. And so let me present Mr. Ashoke Chatterjee.

We encourage those who are indignant to express this in writing to any or all of the following:

Trade Minister Stockwell Day
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney
The Honourable Kevin Krueger, British Columbia Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts
Your local Member of Parliment

Here are some links to support materials:

Globe and Mail: India is Booming - Trade with Canada Isn't