Celebrating The Fabric of Dundee

A COLLABORATION between Dundee’s international community and Verdant Works museum will be showcased at a celebration on Saturday August 19.

Over the summer Verdant Works, Dundee’s social history and j ute museum, has been working closely with Dundee International Women’s Centre to explore the links between India and the subcontinents and Dundee, via the city’s jute industry.

Raw jute fibre was first imported into Britain in 1791 by the East India Company which traded in Bengal.

Textile artist Morag Gray and Learning and Audiences Officer Anna Murray began working with the “Bazorg” group — which translates as “elders” in Urdu — with an artmaking project last year.

The group, who largely comes from India, Calcutta and Pakistan, initially worked with fibres which represented “home” — sari silks and jute woven in Dundee. They wove the pieces together and thought about words or place names that meant something to them.

The group worked on this theme by felt making flags which were embellished with words and symbols which represent journeys and thoughts about “home”.

This year, the group has worked together to create a book, The Fabric of Dundee. The participants each created a collaged page using a variety of textile printing techniques on Indian papers with personal photographs.