State-of-the-art Museum Textile Gallery to highlight Kutch embroidery

By Nitika Agarwal

Photography: Courtesy MDC & Shrujan Trust

Read Time: 3 Mins

.

Matrika Design Collaborative chisel out Bhuj’s textile gallery with subtle contextual references that bring alive the embroidery traditions and the desert landscape of the region...

A small village in Kutch, nearly 18km from Bhuj has recently opened a museum gallery that’s part of a 9 acre campus known as the Living and Learning Design Centre (LLDC). While its now complete gallery caters to permanent and temporary displays of the age-old tradition of Kutchi embroidery; the two other galleries nearing completion by early 2017 will serve as an archive centre to document collections and commissioned works; and as a craft studio that will operate as a common platform for craftspeople and designers to establish a dialogue between the past and present.

.

.

Mumbai-based design studio, Matrika Design Collaborative helmed by Ar. Abhishek Ray has made this vision possible in two years with meticulous research on ten prominent communities of Kutch that practice varied styles of embroidery. The layout and design of the gallery borrows immensely from local socio-cultural attributes, where associated information and samples of material culture bring about a cohesive narrative anointing each community.

.

.

Using a minimalist approach, a controlled micro-climate is maintained in display enclosures; light wells create multiple foci for the exhibits; three-tier information systems:  visual panels showcasing portraits of community artisans above display cabinets – the collections per se – and information delivered through graphic panels, interactive tablets and other media complete the desired exhibition design.

.

.

The interior envelope is downplayed by establishing an unprocessed, concrete finish with a palette of muted colours to enhance the exhibits and allow one to observe the nuances of style, texture, colour and so on. Mild steel and stainless steel constitute primary structural materials to provide for movable extensions, lighting and electrical services. Slanting walls and curvatures add to spatial elements as regional artefacts endorse contextual flavour.

.

.

With material conservation and expression being critical aspects of museum design, wood and other organic materials are deliberately avoided and care is taken to circumvent excessive/harsh light, dust, and insect and rodent ingress. To ensure optimum micro climate, an extension of water cooled system with filters is devised to maintain controlled air circulation, humidity level and temperature in the main ‘panel enclosures’ that house large embroidered collections. Highest grade of LED lighting is employed to ensure high quality display, despite preservation measures in place.

.

.

.

The exhibits evoke a sense of continuity and distinction of the various communities of Kutch that practice more than one style of embroidery each, taking visitors along a stimulating journey of history reflected in its craft. Screens and partition walls express a more contemporary adaption of different embroidered patterns; overall demonstrating the harmony of old and new, past and present.