Marking Tana Bana Exhibition

A one-day seminar on the topic “Weaving and problems confronting weavers” was organized on 18-02-2009 under the aegis of National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) marking exhibition on Tana Bana-Weaving being held at Lok Virsa, Garden Avenue, Shakarparian, Islamabad.
The seminar was attended by master artisans in the centuries old traditional art of weaving from remotest parts of the country, textile designers from Karachi School of Arts & National College of Arts, textile experts & designers from Rawalpindi/Islamabad, faculty members and students of final year from Fatima Jinnah Women University, craft dealers, craft lovers, craft entrepreneurs and representatives of craft-related NGOs.

The seminar comprised of two parts; in the first part, about twenty five weavers participating in the exhibition apprised participants about different hardships faced by them with respect to raw material and marketing of their products. Some weavers demanded of holding workshops to help artisans in designing and innovating their products. They also stressed for organizing as much as craft festivals and exhibitions with a view to promote and project their craftsmanship.
In the second part, professor fine arts department Mrs. Naseem Abbas, weaving experts Kauser Cheema, Saba Hussain, Mrs. Lubna, famous artist Kausar Jahan and Zarar Babri gave certain suggestions to the management of Lok Virsa and the government for the growth and development of traditional arts & crafts with special reference to weaving. Their suggestions included provision of services of experts to the artisans for their guidance and availability of local facilities to the artisans for improvement and preservation of their crafts.
Addressing the seminar Mr. Mazhar ul Islam, Executive Director Lok Virsa, who is also an internationally known writer and folklorist, said that Lok Virsa intends to create a combination between traditional & modern weaving. Lok Virsa also wants to encourage artisans to produce handicrafts using traditional skills, patterns & themes in an innovative way to ensure continuity & sustainability of these traditional skills. While emphasizing the importance of the art of weaving, Mr. Mazhar ul Islam said that the value of the traditional artifacts has not vanished despite the present day modern machines. Customers prefer to buy traditional weaving items instead modern ones. He said that Lok Virsa is planning to open craft shops so that craftspeople may get the opportunity to have a platform for selling their products.