Residency brief
The Kalhath Institute, established in 2016, is the brainchild of co-founders - Maximiliano Modesti and Mohammed Amine Dadda. Kalhath is a training centre for the artisans of Lucknow and its surrounding areas and offers a ‘Residency Programme’ that is one-of-a-kind, in that it facilitates the seamless blending of the world of art and craft, through a collaborative exercise between the artist and the artisan with the use of a plethora of material, ranging from silk and cotton thread to natural materials like jute and the like, while retaining the distinctive characteristics of both.
The craftsmen on the Kalhath team are specialists in hand embroidery; their craft covers the techniques of Zardosi, Ari and a host of others, passed down through generations of craftsmen. The resident is encouraged to utilize the artisanal resources at Kalhath for the duration of their residency in an environment that is symbiotic in nature. In the recent past, Kalhath has had artists such as T. Venkanna and Pauline Guerrier - in collaboration with the French Institute in India - create artworks with their artisans.
