In 2018, The Kalhath Institute launched the Art Residency where artists from within India and around the world are invited to the Institute to work in close collaboration with the embroidery artisans. The inaugural participant of the Art Residency was T.Venkanna, and works produced in collaboration with the artisans were first exhibited at Mumbai-based Gallery Maskara in January 2020. Kalhath-Venkanna embroidered artworks now form part of several prestigious museum and private collections in India and internationally (Burger Collection in Hong Kong, Kiran Nadar Museum Delhi, The Leister Collection in Zurich among others).
The Art Residency is grounded in a core pedagogy that aims to empower artisans to question preconceived and generational perceptions of their craft. In turn, traditional Indian embroidery’s reinterpretation in experimental artworks provokes new ways of understanding its role in contemporary art practice and design. By re-articulating artisans’ traditional skillset as part of ground-breaking contemporary art, the Institute aims to fundamentally challenge and transform how Indian embroidery is perceived and valued globally.