Threads of the past: Immerse in these three unique exhibitions in Mumbai this September

Installation view of Tapovan, Saptamatrikas, Garden of Gestures presented by Chanakya School. Crafted in bamboo, cotton, and raffia, the sculptures embody a reverence for the feminine. Pics Courtesy/Ryan Martis; Chanakya International and Foundation; Chanakya School; Dr BDL Museum; Shivani Goel, Experimenter, Colaba

How do you reflect on these four decades for the atelier, Chanakya?
I think of the 40 years as a continuum of learning. Chanakya was founded in 1986 by my father, Vinod Shah, from a deep admiration for the Indian craft traditions, and a belief that it is a living language. The Chanakya School was established in 2016 as a non-profit dedicated to craft, culture, and creating a new autonomy for women.

Installation view of Island, Presented at En Route. The map traces Mumbai's growth from Heptanesia through reclamation, cotton mills to its Art Deco

How has the journey evolved since?
Since then, the contexts have expanded enormously. As we mark these twin anniversaries, the three exhibitions across Mumbai reflect the breadth of our work. En Route [an iteration of the collaboration with artist Maria Grazia Chiuri], presented by the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, considers how knowledge travels and how each generation finds new ways of carrying it forward. Garden of Gestures traces the life of a gesture from learning and shared practice to individual expression. Belong approaches inherited textile techniques as living bodies of knowledge that continue to evolve.

Installation view of Belong. Constructed from coconut, banana, and jute fibres, the sculptures draw upon the iconography of the Saptamatrikas

With En Route, you explore ideas of movement and memory, including the new embroidered maps of Mumbai. Can you tell us about the connection?
It considers mapping as a way of expressing how we experience and locate ourselves within the world. In dialogue with the Museum's rare map collection, the embroidered maps trace the city from Heptanesia, its origins as seven islands, through reclamation, trade, the cotton mills and the Art Deco seafront.

Karishma Swali

En Route
Till October 20; 10 am to
5.30 pm (except Wednesdays)
AT Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Veermata Jijabai Udyan and Zoo, Byculla East.
ENTRY Museum tickets apply

Garden of Gestures
Till September 30
AT Chanakya International, Raheja Xion, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, Byculla East.
CALL 71788900 (before visiting)

Belong
Till October 17; 10.30 am to 6.30 pm
AT Experimenter Colaba, Apollo Bunder, Colaba.

Curator speaks

(From left) Maria Grazia Chiuri, Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, Karishma Swali at the launch at Dr BDL Museum

This iteration [of the exhibition] invites visitors to engage with art that foreground the legacies and stories of extraordinary women from the 19th Century to today.

Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, managing trustee and director, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum

Italian connection

En Route emerged from a creative dialogue with Karishma [Swali] around journeys, cartographies, and the ways in which knowledge moves across cultures and time. Its first presentation at the Vatican Apostolic Library in 2025 gave these ideas a particularly meaningful context. I am very happy to see it continue its own journey to Mumbai and enter a new context.

Maria Grazia Chiuri, chief creative officer, Fendi