Alice Kettle was invited by Muhammad Zeeshan, Curator Karachi Biennale 2019 (KB19) and Karachi Biennale Trust to conduct a two day workshop hosted at British Council, Karachi on 26th and 27th June, 2019. The aim of the workshop was to impart her skills to local embroiderers and to learn about their techniques and experiences in turn. The workshop also kick started Alice’s KB19 project, which will be made by her, along with the women who attended this workshop.
Muhammad Zeeshan and Alice’s conversations on her KB19 work led the Curator to approach three organizations, all of whom focused on sustainability and the empowerment of their women embroiderers, and invited them to participate in the workshop. Behbud association, RLCC (Rana Liaquat Craftsmen Colony), and IRC (Indus Resource Center), sent three embroiders and one coordinator each, to the workshop.
There were two main activities: a drawing activity (stage one), that lasted about 45 minutes, and a stitching activity (stage two), that lasted one hour. Next was the stitching activity which was meant to allow Alice to introduce her style of sewing.
Participants completed stage three of the processes- embroidering more trees and attaching these in a grid formation to a background cloth, creating one large artwork.
British Council’s team, which had Ahsan Abbas and Quratulain Amjad, was generous enough to help us manage and organize the room and arrangements for the workshop
About Alice Kettle
Alice Kettle is a contemporary textile/fibre artist, writer and lecturer based in the UK. The vast panels use the power of textiles to narrate contemporary events through rich and intricate stitch works. Her works use thread to examine the interconnected nature of society and migration using embroidery to engage in participatory collaborative projects. Alice is currently Professor in Textile Arts at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University. She is Visiting Professor at the University of Winchester and Chair of the Embroiderers Guild. Her work is represented in various international public collections