About the Craft

Kantha is one of the oldest embroidery art forms in the South Asian region, largely practiced in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Its embroidery carries rich and vibrant imagery from everyday life, where Kantha artisans translate their neighbours, friends, and surroundings into beautiful works of embroidery.

A skill passed down by the women of the family, Kantha lives on as an heirloom for generations and is known as a women’s art, held close within homes and families.

Building Artisans

With No Borders In-House, we have been working closely with artisans across the country, each carrying forward craft passed down through generations. One of our closest artisans is Priya from West Bengal, who learned Kantha from her mother, Afroza, who first picked it up in the 1970s during its revival after the Liberation War.

Over the last three years, we have been on a Kantha journey with Priya and her mother. Together, we have been reimagining and re-innovating Kantha embroidery for today and the future, and what began with them has now grown into a group of over 50 women from her village, led by them and exploring new ways of working with the craft while keeping its traditional knowledge alive.