SHAKTI

SHAKTI – Threads of Female Power is a textile-based exhibition emerging from a four-week artist residency jointly organized by the Goethe-Institut Chennai and the Alliance Française of Madras. The residency, held in September 2025, brought together women artists from Germany, France, and India to explore the idea of Shakti—the feminine force understood across cultures as intuition, strength, healing, resistance, and transformation.

Rooted in Indian textile traditions, the exhibition reflects on textiles as sites of women’s labour, memory, and embodied knowledge. Through processes such as weaving, embroidery, felting, patchwork, and material reuse, the artists engage with textiles as both medium and metaphor, connecting personal narratives with feminist thought and cultural histories.

The residency comes to life as SHAKTI, a curated textile-based exhibition shaped by five women artists whose practices span contemporary art, design, and craft. Their works examine how feminine power has been revered, feared, suppressed, and reclaimed, and how textile practices can offer new ways of understanding identity, resilience, and collective memory.
 
Alongside the exhibition, a series of public workshops, guided walkthroughs, and interactive sessions will take place, inviting audiences to engage directly with the artists’ processes and the themes of the project.

Participating Artists
 
@Goethe-Instiutut Chennai Anna Cambier (France/Germany)
Anna Cambier arbeitet multimedial und performativ. Ihre Arbeit hinterfragt Erfahrungen von Entkörperlichung und Entfremdung und zeichnet die emotionale und psychologische Landschaft des Erwachsenwerdens in einem weiblichen Körper nach. Durch Material, Bewegung und Präsenz erforscht sie Verletzlichkeit, Erinnerung und verkörperte Wahrnehmung.





@Goethe-Instiutut Chennai Bettina Mileta (Germany)
Based in Berlin, Bettina Mileta creates large-scale textile installations inspired by techniques such as pojagi, quilting, and patchwork. Her work often inhabits open, architectural spaces—urban and rural—making historically female textile traditions visible, valued, and reinterpretable within contemporary spatial contexts.




 
@Goethe-Instiutut Chennai Marielle Maury (France)
Marielle Maury is a fashion designer whose practice is rooted in sustainability and artisanal production. Working with leftover and reclaimed materials, she transforms textile remnants into garments, ornaments, and sculptural forms inspired by French haute couture, emphasizing timelessness, care, and material sensitivity.
 




@Goethe-Instiutut Chennai Munira Nizam Diwan (India)
Munira Nizam Diwan’s practice is grounded in feminist research and examines the subtle negotiations women make between social expectations and personal desires. Through tactile processes such as sewing, weaving, tearing, and shaping, her work gives form to endurance, resistance, and the quiet power embedded in everyday and domestic spaces.
 




@Goethe-Instiutut Chennai Sanskruti Shukla (India)
Sanskruti Shukla is a designer and researcher whose work draws from India’s historical landscapes, sacred geographies, and craft traditions. Engaging deeply with indigenous knowledge systems, her practice explores textiles as carriers of memory, mythology, and the evolving dialogue between material, maker, and place.






Special Interactive Installation

Kalyani Pramod (India)
Kalyani Pramod is a Chennai-based artist and the founder of Common Threads Studio, a practice rooted in textile processes, community engagement, and participatory art. Her work focuses on shared making, storytelling, and collective memory through cloth. As part of SHAKTI, Kalyani presents an interactive textile installation, inviting visitors to actively engage with material, process, and reflection. This intervention creates a dialogue between the residency artists and the local artistic community in Chennai.

Public Programmes

In addition to the exhibition, SHAKTI features a rich programme of hands-on workshops led by women artists, offering participants opportunities to engage with textile techniques and feminist perspectives through practice.

An Honest Hustle Market, showcasing women-led creative and artisanal initiatives, will take place on 7 and 8 March 2026, further extending the exhibition’s engagement with community, craft, and entrepreneurship

DJ Night | 7 March 2026 | 7.00 - 9.00 pm | Alliance Française of Madras

QUEENS ON THE FLOOR FT. NAMI Step into the spotlight for an exclusive women-only DJ night filled with electrifying beats and unstoppable energy. Join us as NAMI takes over the decks, creating a space where women can dance freely, celebrate sisterhood, and own the floor from start to finish.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE:
Stamp your Shakti: Stamp your Truth
Facilitated by Verena and Ruchi
11:00 AM – 03:00 PM | AFM Classroom | 7th March 2026
Age: 15 years and above
What we’ll do: Create custom quotes and pictograms using stenciling techniques.
What you’ll make: A poster, or bring your own reusable tote bag or tee to upcycle and custom print!

Weaving Workshop: Inspired by Jamakkalam
Facilitated by Asli Thari
12:00 PM – 02:00 PM | AFM Classroom | 7th March 2026
Age: 15 years and above

What we’ll do: Learn the basics of frame loom eaving inspired by traditional Tamil NaduJamakkalam, exploring simple weaving techniques, colour combinations and striped patterns.
What you’ll make: A small handwoven textile piece to take home, along with a basic understanding of Jamakkalam-inspired weaving and striped textile compositions.

Natural Dying Workshop
Facilitated by Colour Ashram as part of Honest Hustle
03:00 PM – 05:00 PM | AFM Atrium | 7th March 2026 and 8th March 2026
Age: 15 years and above

What we’ll do: Experience hands-on natural dyeing through guided tie-and-dye sessions using natural colours. This workshop focuses on the dyeing process (without instruction on preparing dyes). Participants must bring their own washed white fabric, T-shirt, or scarf suitable for dyeing.
What you’ll make: Naturally dyed tie-and-dye textile pieces to take home, along with practical hands-on experience in working with natural dyes.

Needle Felting with Wool

Facilitated by Sanskruti Shukla
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM and 04:00 PM – 05:00 PM | AFM Classroom | 8th March 2026
Age: 15 years and above

What we’ll do: Begin with a guided reflection on the question“What gives you Shakti?”, followed by an introduction to the basics of needle felting using natural wool.
What you’ll make: A small felted textile piece to take home, along with a hands-on introduction to needle felting.

Toda Embroidery Workshop

Facilitated by Vasamalli
12:00 PM – 02:00 PM | AFM Classroom | 14th March 2026
Age: 15 years and above

What we’ll do: Learn the basics of Toda embroidery with guidance from Vasamalli, exploring traditional motifs and stitching techniques on fabric provided during the workshop.
What you’ll make: A hand-embroidered textile piece featuring basic Toda motifs on the provided fabric, which participants can take home.

Embroidery Workshop
Facilitated by Julia and Sita
11:00 AM onwards | AFM Classroom | 14th March 2026
Age: 15 years and above

Networking Session
Facilitated by Craig
11:00 AM – 01:00 PM| La Maison | 14th March 2026
Age: 15 years and above

What we’ll do: Take part in an invite-only, in-person networking mixer facilitated by Craig, bringing together women founders, creators, and professionals for meaningful conversations and genuine connections.
What you’ll make: New professional connections and opportunities for collaboration through guided conversations and shared exchange.

NOTE: This is a free event. However, Registration is Mandatory.

Postcard weaving Workshop
Facilitated by Kalyani Pramod
03:00 PM – 06:00 PM | AFM Classroom | 15th March 2026
Age: 15 years and above