The Silver Jubilee Celebrations of NIFT Bengaluru was flagged off in September 2021 by Shri U P Singh, the then Secretary to the Govt of India (Ministry of Textiles). What began with two courses and tens of students in the make shift campus in Cunningham Road in 1997 is today the country's leading design institute running three post graduate programme and six under graduate programme, totalling more than a thousand students. ‘Vignette’ was conceived of as a part of the silver jubilee celebrations in Bengaluru to amplify the voice of handcraft in the digital world and to proclaim the relevance of skill traditions of India through textiles, that are a fitting medium of art and design.
At the heart of NIFT's curriculum lies the art and craft of India. Visvakarma textiles, that were developed by the Weaver's Service Centres under the Ministry of Textiles, was an avant garde exploration of the traditional artistry of the country in the textiles section. Through weaving and handcrafts like block printing and dye painting, Visvakarma led to a dialogue between artists and weavers among different clusters. By choosing to present Vignette, a selection of Visvakarma textiles (borrowed from Weaver's Service Centre, New Delhi and NHHM, New Delhi) NIFT Bengaluru acknowledges the role of the government in preserving such skill set in the country, talks about public funding of textile art, and pays homage to the artists themselves- the weavers, the dyers, the painters et al.
Google Arts & Culture has pioneered the use of technology in bringing museum and gallery art to our fingertips. In doing so, it has democratised design space and allowed the luxury of slow viewing and appreciation of details. In partnering with GA&C to showcase Vignette, NIFT Bengaluru aims to bring to a global audience the beauty of the timeless textile traditions of India that have survived for centuries. Visvakarma textiles were commissioned and developed for an international audience and having been exhibited in the 80s and 90s across USA, erstwhile USSR and Europe, it is only fitting that a selection of it should be available in the digital world for the next generation to savour. The depth of the natural dye in a Kalmakari, the metallic allure of gold in a brocade, the expression in the eye of a peacock, the crow on the back of an ambling cow, the curl of a flower-these are fascinating details one can zoom into thanks to the platform of GA&C.
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VIGNETTE Visvakarma Textiles: Art and Artistry
Cloths of Gold
The Art of the Story -Kalamkari
Flora and Fauna
Geometry/Abstraction
Birds and Animals
