Art in Transit to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti by initiating conversations around clothes and textiles

Fabric Footprints celebrates sustainable fashion and Gandhi's legacy through workshops and exhibits at Cubbon Park Metro Station.

Fabric Footprints, a new initiative by Art in Transit, a public art and pedagogic initiative facilitated by the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology (SMI) Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL), will be held in the city to mark Gandhi Jayanti. 

The event, which will be held in Cubbon Park Metro Station on the October 2 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., seeks to “celebrate the philosophy of Khadi and the importance of such handmade, self-resilient textile systems for economic freedom and self-sufficiency.”

According to Swati Maskeri, Head of Studies, Industrial Arts & Design Practices, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology, industrial textile systems are extractive — polluting ecosystems and perpetuating unsustainable practices for decades.

“The urgency to revisit our cultural modes of production, consumption, repair, and reuse has never been more pressing. What better a moment to reflect on this than the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, whose understanding of people and the planet as part of the moral economy was far ahead of its time,” she says, adding that Gandhi’s promotion of spinning, weaving, and khadi was not just an economic or political statement but a profound ecological act.

“Gandhiji’s legacy teaches us that true independence and sustainability begin with how we engage with the resources of our planet,” believes Ms. Maskeri. 

Numerous small exhibits, activities and workshops will form part of Fabric Footprints. Theseincludea mend-and-make workshop designed to teach people to mend and revitalise their damaged clothes, a community weaving workshop, which celebrates the essence of Bhavani Jamakkalam, a traditional woven carpet from Erode, Tamil Nadu, an eco-printing workshop that attempts to capture Bengaluru’s plant life, an exhibit of Deccani Wool by the Centre for Pastoralism and a Brown Cotton exhibit by the Karnataka-based Udaanta Trust. 

Yash Bhandari, Faculty, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, says that at a time when fast fashion’s contribution to textile waste, particularly with non-recyclable polyester, is significant, “we would like to encourage a culture of personalisation, repair, and repurposing.”