This exhibition ‘Shakti’ celebrates female power through textile art

Shakti, the feminine, lends itself to several interpretations across the subcontinent. French artist Marielle Maury, a fashion designer whose practice is rooted in sustainability and artisanal production, says that she did not know what it meant when she first encountered it, but had a hunch.

“Shakti is a humble, unexplainable, yet powerful intelligence. Even if I don’t believe in any religion, I was convinced that it had to do with feminism. All the strength and the inner power of Shakti that was depicted, reminded me of the universal power of women,” she says. 

Marielle is part of a cohort of five artists from Germany, France, and India who took part in a residency starting September in Chennai that introduced the said artists to regional textiles and other traditions. A collaboration between Goethe-Institut Chennai and Alliance Française Madras, this residency will now culminate in an exhibition titled Shakti: Threads of Female Power, at Alliance Française of Madras on March 7. The exhibition will interpret textile through installations and art work across the campus. The participating artists include Anna Cambier from France, Bettina Mileta from Germany, Marielle Maury, and Munira Nizam Diwan and Sanskruti Shukla from India.  

Textile art
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Patricia Théry-Hart, director, Alliance Française of Madras, and Katharina Gorgen, director, Goethe-Institut Chennai, say that the idea came from their own love and interest towards Indian textile. That it nearly coincides with Women’s Day, is entirely intentional, they say. When they both took charge of their offices during their posting in India, they were captivated by the colours. 

Katharina says that Indian sarees often took her breath away. “Even if I cannot wear them in my next posting, it does not stop me from buying a saree. The whole country has such a rich textile tradition,” she says. Yet, that is not all, she adds.

As the two directors get ready to bid the country good-bye and move elsewhere for their posting, they decided to put their heads together to formulate the idea for this exhibition. “Our aim was to highlight two key dimensions:  women and craftsmanship, specifically textiles in Tamil Nadu. For me, it unfolds as a narrative of adaptation, life’s evolving stages — from emergence to maturity to renewal — and the beauty of shifting perspectives,” says Patricia.

Artists at the residency
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

In a telephonic conversation with The Hindu, she adds that it is of essence to celebrate the ‘shakti’. The exhibition put together by curator Kalyani Pramod, a Chennai-based artist and founder, Common Threads Studio, “brings the collective gaze of women, ever watchful, unifying, and amplifying our voices,” she adds.

Berlin-based artist Bettina Mileta says that her work will explore this gaze through large-scale textile installations in outdoor spaces. “The piece will be constructed out of multiple panels in different colours that loosely refer to Madras Checks all handmade out of coloured silk and sewn together in a double stitched seam so that it looks neat from the front but as well from the back,” she says. 

Bettina is intent on deconstructing this connection of working with fabric and its inherent ‘indoor ’nature. “In the European tradition this has been duly linked to women spending their time at home, not being able to claim public space for themselves. They were expected to stay at home, to do the duties of the house and occupy themselves with hobbies such as embroidery. My interest is to see how this can be framed in a different world, and to see what grows from contrasting bigger fabric works in urban space,” she says. 

Artists at the residency
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Other artists like Sanskruti will use wool and silk to explore material sensitivity, while Munira Nizam Diwan, whose practise is grounded in feminist research, examines the subtle negotiations women make between social expectations and personal desires. Multi-media artist Anna Cambier’s work “questions experiences of disembodiment and alienation, tracing the emotional and psychological landscape of growing up in a female body,” according to a press release. 

While the art exhibition anchors Shakti, Particia says that the Honest Hustle Collective will have a flea market entirely focussed on women with entrepreneurs pulling innovative products out of their hat. Katharina adds that they will also have a women’s only dance floor with DJ Nami to close the night. “Fun is of essence to this exhibition,” she says. 

There will also be three workshops focussing on Indian textiles, including a weaving workshop inspired by the jamakalam by Aslii Thari; a natural dyeing workshop by ColorAshram; and Stamp your Truth workshop by Ruchi and Verena. 

What kind of shakti are you? Time to find out on Saturday. 

@AF Madras, Nungambakkam from 11am. Registration for the workshops is mandatory and is priced at ₹300.

Published – March 04, 2026 12:41 pm IST