Portfolio · MMXXVI · Textile Heritage

Threaded archive of India.

Dr. Bessie Cecil — textile researcher, educator, designer & curator tracing India's woven, dyed and printed traditions across two decades.

Dr. Bessie Cecil
Plate I Chennai · 2025
RoleTextile Heritage Expert
CurrentProfessor, IICD Jaipur
Fellowships08 awarded
Published36 papers
Khadi Kalamkari Bagru Indigo Chamba Rumal Handloom Lungi
Khadi Kalamkari Bagru Indigo Chamba Rumal Handloom Lungi
§ 01 / Practice — On threads that hold memory — ◐ Continuing

Textile
traditions as living
knowledge.

Dr. Bessie Cecil teaching
Figure I — In practice, Kalakshetra

I treat textile traditions as living knowledge systems — continuing cultural practices that evolve with the hands and lives that carry them forward.

My work integrates fieldwork, technical analysis, oral histories, and visual documentation — feeding back into teaching, exhibitions, and publications. Each study grows from relationships built with artisans over time.

From handloom villages in Tamil Nadu to block-printing workshops in Rajasthan, from narrative embroideries of the Himalayas to museum archives abroad — I document what is made, by whom, and why it matters now.

⟡ 01
Fieldwork & oral histories
⟡ 02
Ethical engagement with artisans
⟡ 03
Material-based pedagogy
⟡ 04
Curatorial practice rooted in context
0+
Years in Practice
0
Papers Published
0
Presentations
0
Fellowships
§ 02 / Path — Across three decades & institutions — ◐ 07 Roles

A life across
looms & lecterns.

2024 —
Professor Indian Institute of Crafts & Design
Jaipur, Rajasthan
→
2023 — 24
Consultant Sangamam · Handweaving & Natural Dye
India
→
2019 — 21
Head, Craft Ed. Kalakshetra Foundation
Chennai
→
2016 — 19
Research Consultant Abstract Creative Studio
Chennai
→
2001 — 03
Freelance Designer Weavers Service Center
Chennai
→
1996 — 99
Visiting Faculty Lexicon College of Fashion
Chennai
→
Also
Consultant Ministry of Culture · Textile conferences
Pan-India
→
§ 03 / Research Series — Continuing traditions as living archives — ◐ 05 Studies

Living
Legacies.

An ongoing body of research documenting textile traditions as evolving cultural practices — from plant to pigment, loom to language, and the hands between.

Lungi weaving
Study I · Material Culture

Lungi: everyday
cloth, layered
histories

A material and social study of the lungi in South India — tracing how an everyday garment carries identity, labour, and memory.

South IndiaOngoing
Indigo dyeing
Study II · Natural Dye

Nilam — Neelam.

Indigenous indigo cultivation and extraction, traced from plant to pigment.

Tamil Nadu
Kalamkari
Study III · Narrative Textile

Gods under the feet

Narrative painted textiles — the kalamkari tradition of Srikalahasti, where myth becomes cloth.

Andhra Pradesh
Bagru block printing
Study IV · Block Print

Bagru
prints.

Block printing, natural dyes & pattern vocabularies — with FADAT.

Rajasthan
Chamba Rumal
Study V · Narrative Embroidery · Book

Chamba Rumal — the do-rukha of the hills.

A research-led book project, MAPIN-approved. Tracing Himalayan double-sided silk embroidery as courtly art and domestic devotion.

Himachal PradeshMAPIN · In Progress
§ 04 / Featured Work — A collaboration in natural colour — ◐ Kalakshetra
Murder of Crows - monochrome painting
⬥ Monochrome
Natural Pigment · Painting · 2019–21

Murder of Crows.

A monochrome painting in natural colour.

Developed at the Craft Education and Research Centre, Kalakshetra Foundation, Murder of Crows is a monochrome work prepared entirely from natural colours.

The conceptual framework and direction were developed by me, with execution carried out by the artist Venketesh. The collaboration brings together material exploration and painterly interpretation, grounded in traditional processes.

ConceptDr. Bessie Cecil
ExecutionVenketesh
Made AtCERC, Kalakshetra
Natural Dyes · Painting

Herd of Goats.

A multicoloured work rendered using natural dyes.

Herd of Goats is a multicoloured work rendered using natural dyes, where the final chromatic outcome emerges only through processing. Unlike conventional painting, the colours are not fully visible at the stage of application; they develop gradually through stages of treatment, requiring a precise understanding of material behaviour and sequence.

The conceptual framework and approach to the use of natural dyes were developed by me, while the subject and execution of the artwork were carried out by the artist Venketesh. The work reflects a collaborative engagement between process knowledge and artistic interpretation.

ConceptDr. Bessie Cecil
ExecutionVenketesh
Herd of Goats - multicoloured painting
⬥ Multicolour
§ 05 / Publications — Research made material — ◐ 03 Volumes

Books
& swatch scholarship.

A Journey with Khadi cover
● Published
01

A Journey with Khadi

Khadi is humane. Khadi is cotton. Khadi is people.

— Swatch Book
Weaves and Traditions
○ In Progress
02

Weaves & Traditions

Handwoven textiles of India.

— Swatch Book
Weaving India
○ In Progress
03

Weaving India

A book exploring woven traditions, with swatches.

— Monograph
◎ In the Field & Archive Photographs from practice ◎ 2019 — 2024
Hands Behind Handloom · 2024
Khadi Exhibition
Lungi weaving · South India
Indigo vat · Tamil Nadu
Kalamkari · Srikalahasti
Bagru Prints · Rajasthan
Flag restoration · Fort St. George
Hands Behind Handloom · 2024
Khadi Exhibition
Lungi weaving · South India
Indigo vat · Tamil Nadu
Kalamkari · Srikalahasti
Bagru Prints · Rajasthan
Flag restoration · Fort St. George
§ 06 / Curatorial — Research made public — ◐ 04 Shows

Exhibitions
curated.

01
Hands Behind Handloom
DakshinaChitra Museum, Chennai
2024
02
A Journey Back to Khadi
Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai
2021
03
Colours of Nature
ICCR, Kolkata
2014
04
Batik Sutra: Tagore, Travel & Textiles
ICCR, Kolkata
2011
§ 07 / Recognition — Fellowships & service — ◐ International

Fellowships awarded / 08

  • i.Charles Wallace Research Fellowship, British Library2015
  • ii.INTACH, New Delhi2015 — 16
  • iii.Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore2010 — 11
  • iv.Craft Education & Research Center, Kalakshetra2007 — 08
  • v.Fulbright Doctoral & Professional Research Fellowship, USA2006 — 07
  • vi.Nehru Trust UK, Visiting Fellowship, London2006 — 07
  • vii.Crafts Museum, New Delhi2004
  • viii.Small Study Fund, INTACH UK, New Delhi2004

Service & conservation / Select

  • ·Internship, Textile Conservation, Textile Museum, Washington DC2007
  • ·Consultant, National Flag Restoration, Fort St. George2019
  • ·Review of Indian Textiles, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY2007
  • ·Chamba Rumal collection, Bhuri Singh Museum2006
  • ·Sari collection documentation, Government Museum, Chennai2005
  • ·Condition report, Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata2004
  • ·Research film, indigenous cotton, Sabarmati Ashram2021
  • ·Ideation Team, Atmanirbhar Bharat Design Centre, Red Fort2021
§ 08 / Affiliations — Committees & councils — ◐ 10 Bodies

Professional
bodies.

Textile & Clothing Research Centre
Madras Literary Society
Museum Association of India
Indian Assoc. for Conservation of Cultural Property
International Council of Museums — Conservation
Craft Council of India
Indo-American Association, Chennai
Expert Committee, GI Registry of India
Advisory Committee, Weavers Service Centre
External Examiner, NIFT Chennai
§ 09 / Correspondence — Begin a conversation — ◐ Open

Let us
weave something
together.

Electronic Mail
bessie96@gmail.com
Telephone
+91 984 144 5514
Locate
Chennai ⟷ Jaipur