Join us for a Zoom lecture with scholar Urmila Mohan on Thursday, February 13, at 6:30 pm.
Get tickets HERE
Rajkot Patola and the Making of an Indian Ikat Commons
Rajkot Patola is a handloomed silk textile that uses ikat patterning along the weft. This single ikat craft is popular in Gujarat in western India and has reached national as well as global markets. Yet its history and the manner in which it has developed has been ignored. Although it is often regarded as an imitation of the double ikat tradition of Patan Patola this weft ikat craft is its own form. It also shows how handloomed textiles in India are transformed into ‘heritage’ through textile practice and discourse.
About the Speaker:
Urmila Mohan (Ph.D. Anthropology, 2015, University College London) is a 2024-25 Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellow to India, where she is currently conducting research on the weft ikat craft of Rajkot Patola. She is the founder/editor of the open-access digital platform “The Jugaad Project” for interdisciplinary studies on materials, embodiment and belief.
Dr. Mohan taught museum anthropology at New York University for several years and has conducted research in India, Indonesia, and the U.S. She has a background in Studio Art and Communication Design.