Tapestry workshop concludes at Shilpakala

A 12-day tapestry workshop concluded on July 12 at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA). BSA together with Tapestry and Painting Studio jointly organised the workshop at its National Art Gallery. 

Artist Tajul Islam conducted the workshop, while BSA instructors Pradyut Kumar Das and SM Mizanur Rahman assisted him. A total of 27 participants from various institutions including Faculty of Fine Arts of University of Dhaka, alongside two artists – Samina Nafiz and Afroza Jamil Kongka took part in the workshop. 

BSA Liaquat Director General Ali Lucky, BSA's Fine Art Departmenr director Mohammad Anwar Hossain and Tajul Islam attended the certificate giving ceremony on July 12. “The sincerity of the participating artists will hold the art heritage of tapestry,” Said Liaquat Ali Lucky. 

Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom. However, it can also be woven on a floor loom. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length (called the warp) and those parallel to the width (called the weft); the warp threads are set up under tension on a loom, and the weft thread is passed back and forth across part or all of the warps. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike cloth weaving where both the warp and the weft threads may be visible.

Jute and colourful cotton are the main elements for weaving tapestry. Apart from having its artistic value, tapestry has its everyday use in wall mats, prayer mats, shataranji and carpet.