Learn more about the striking art of rangoli at free Sunderland Museum workshops

Members of the public have the opportunity to meet the artist behind a popular exhibition at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.
Free workshops take place tomorrowFree workshops take place tomorrow
Free workshops take place tomorrow

Internationally-respected artist Ranbir Kaur is celebrating 30 years of working in communities around the world with her exhibition, Life in Colour, which will run until Sunday, January 6 next year.

A Meet the Public workshop at the museum tomorrow, Thursday, November 15, will give the public an opportunity to ask Ranbir about her work. Participants will also be given the opportunity to try the decorative art of rangoli, which Ranbir specialises in, or in the art of block printing.

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The workshop is free and will run between 1.30pm and 3.30pm.

Padma Rao, who has helped to facilitate the exhibition, said: “The workshop will give people the chance to get to know the in-depth story about a specific piece, such as a wedding dress that Ranbir made for her own wedding which took a year to make.”

The session is among a series of workshops being run to complement the Life in Colour exhibition. Other workshops included a session tomorrow morning for women from the Apna Ghar organisation from South Shields and the Diverse Women’s Network in Durham.

On Friday a workshop is being held for Hudson Road Primary School, one of a series of sessions with local schools that has brought more than 100 schoolchildren to the exhibition. A workshop for women from the Sangini organisation is also being held on Friday.

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Rangoli is a traditional Indian art form used to decorate the ground in front of houses and places of worship to attract the Hindu Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi. It is usually made for festivals and special celebrations.

Ranbir has taken this traditional art and adapted her approach according to the space she works in. As well as using traditional materials and

patterns, she creates stunning contemporary designs using materials not usually associated with this art.

The exhibition brings together a wide range of textile pieces made using traditional techniques from embroidery, filigree, and mirror work to story banners and doll-making, all inspired by her South Asian heritage.