Gaining Ground

Gaining Ground drew on the British Council’s Crafting Futures programme with work by artisans and researchers from countries across the globe, including Bangladesh, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Argentina, Nicaragua, Guyana, Brazil and Indonesia – territories where colonialism and extractive capitalist processes have disrupted craft knowledge being passed on to future generations.

Through a display of films, photography, audio, handbooks, raw materials, and craft objects, Gaining Ground explored craft as a form of living knowledge that shapes global cultures and our relationship to nature. Each project, although geographically and socially distinct, questions what we can learn from craft to inform climate action and in our quest to build a more sustainable future. The exhibition featured Artisan Voices, Building a library for the future, Karighor Archive, Kilubukila, Making Nature, and Relocating the loom.

To hear more about this work listen to curator Ligaya Salazar’s conversation with Uthra Rajgopal, Vancci Wahn and Amber Butchart in Episode 2 of the Cloth Cultures podcast, Season 3.