Lunchtime Lectures: Kantha and Kawandi Quilts: Threads of Thrift

In this lecture, artist and author Ekta Kaul invites you to discover Kantha and Kawandi quilts — two remarkable stitch traditions shaped by generations of Indian women. Born of frugality, both transform worn saris and preloved fabric into textiles of enduring beauty through stitch: Kantha, from Bengal, with its rippling running stitch, and Kawandi, the bold, improvised patchwork quilts of Karnataka's Siddi community. Ekta traces how these practices, thrifty by necessity, expressive by design, embodied sustainability long before the word entered our vocabulary, and how the needle offered a means of storytelling, memory-keeping and self-expression. Drawing on her own practice and research, she reflects on what these living traditions can teach us about thoughtful making and resourcefulness.

Ekta Kaul is an award-winning artist known for her narrative maps, which intricately explore themes of place, history, and belonging through the mediums of stitch and abstract painting. Her works are featured in public collections, including the Museum of London, the Crafts Council, the Gunnersbury Museum, and Feltham Library, as well as in numerous private collections. A recipient of the Cockpit Arts Textile Prize (2021), Ekta is also the author of Kantha: Sustainable Textiles & Mindful Making, nominated for the RL Shep Award for the best book of 2025 in the field of global textile traditions. She lives and works in London. Please visit Ekta's website at www.ektakaul.com.

A recording of the talk will be available to view at https://www.youtube.com/@ektakaulart. 

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