A textile-based research project exploring memory, labour, and ecological change was presented at Brihatta Art Space from February 9 to 14, offering visitors an intimate reflection on Bangladesh’s riverine landscape through collaborative artistic practice.
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Titled “Nodir Shuta” (Rivers’ Thread), the project was created by French transdisciplinary artist Clémence Vazard and developed during her residency under the Villa Swagatam initiative at Brihatta Art Foundation. Open daily from 3 pm to 7 pm, excluding February 11 and 12, the presentation brought together research, shared knowledge, and material processes to examine invisible connections between living beings.
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Central to the work was Nakshi Kantha, approached as a living and evolving textile tradition shaped by locality and collaboration. Vazard worked closely with artisan Runa Begum, using reclaimed fabrics and locally sourced materials to foreground process, exchange, and collective authorship in the creation of embroidered forms.
Drawing conceptual parallels between layered stitching and the interconnected river networks of Bangladesh, the project reflected on how textiles carry lived histories while rivers sustain and transform communities. Set against growing environmental precarity and projections of land loss from rising water levels, participatory workshops and collaborative making sessions invited audiences to consider shared futures shaped by water, memory, and craft.
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Through its fusion of research, collaboration, and public engagement, “Nodir Shuta” (Rivers’ Thread) concluded as a contemplative exploration of how textile traditions and riverine environments continue to shape everyday life and cultural memory in Bangladesh.
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