For some Siddi women there are two defining arenas of life: sewing quilts and sowing crops. Siddi quilts, called kawandi, are assembled using found materials, like worn saris. Siddi quilters are also itinerant laborers often engaging in farm labor to supplement their incomes.

As part of TATTER’s speaker series, we’re excited to welcome Sarah K. Kahn and Henry Drewal on Thursday, November 14th for a discussion of the Siddi community and their place both within and apart from Indian society. Sarah K. Khan will share an overview of women farmers in South Asia, and Siddi women farmers in the Mundgud areas of Karnataka with photos and interviews. 

Henry Drewal will discuss the presence of Siddi women in Karnataka, their possible origins, and share his research among Siddi women quilters. Together, Khan and Drewal will discuss two defining arenas of life for Siddi women – sewing quilts and sowing crops – while also examining how these communities are evolving. 

Sarah and Henry are also co-curators of “Soulful Stitching: Patchwork Quilts by Africans (Siddis) in India”, an exhibition that has been shown at Wellesley College Art Museum, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and Chazen Museum of Art, among others. All of the quilts in the exhibitions are by members of the nonprofit Siddi Womens’ Quilting Cooperative. 

To immerse yourself in the vibrant quilting traditions of the Siddi community, join us for the upcoming Kawandi Quilting class with Sujata Shah on December 13th as part of TATTER’s Hand Sewn Quilting Series III. 

*Top photo ©SarahKKhan

Date
Thursday, November 14, 2024 

Time
5 pm – 6:30 pm ET

Location
Zoom, a link will be sent to participants the week before the lecture

Cost

Tickets for this event are sold on a sliding scale beginning at $10 with a suggested donation of $25, but if you wish to pay less or more than the suggested donation, you may select a different amount from the drop down menu. As always, we are grateful for your support, which ensures the continuation and preservation of textile knowledge. Thank you for making this series possible. 

Tatter Library is a registered 501(c)3. Our speaker series is part of our community programming and proceeds support the continued success of our talks with artists, scholars, and historians we admire. For this event, all ticket proceeds will go towards keeping this series alive. 

Scholarships

We have two scholarships available for this experience. To be considered for a scholarship please email [email protected] requesting the scholarship application form.

Recording

This lecture will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to all those who register following the live session. This link is live for one month for you to watch at your convenience.

OUR LECTURERS

Sarah K. Khan, artist/scholar, creates multimedia content about food, culture, women, and migrants. Her most recent bodies of ceramics, prints and films are inspired by a 15th-16th century cookbook from Central South Asia that includes a polyethnic entourage, called the Book of Delights. With multiple group and solo shows, Khan’s work has shown nationally and internationally, as well as held in college, museum and private collections. Dr. Khan spent 20 years researching traditional ecological knowledge systems of Asia and the Middle East (nutrition, public health, integrative medicine, plant sciences, and agro-ecology). She pulls together her multiple skills to share her work with a global audience.
@sarahkkhan
http://sarahkkhan.com/

Henry J Drewal is the Evjue-Bascom Professor Emeritus of Art History and Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His published works include more than 140 articles, several books, films, and exhibition catalogues including: Introspectives: Contemporary Art by Americans and Brazilians of African Descent (with David Driskell) and Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and its Diasporas. His awards include a Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art Fellowships, three Fulbrights, and AIIS grants for work with the Siddis, Indians of African descent. He continues to explore the role of the senses and sense-abilities in shaping arts, persons, cultures and histories using his approach called Sensiotics.
http://henrydrewal.com/