Charkha & Kargha Opening Night

Indian Textile Exhibition from the Powerhouse Collection & Ministry of Textiles, Government of India

Taking its title from Charkha (spinning wheel) and Kargha (loom), the exhibition featured over 100 rare items that date back to the foundational collections of the Powerhouse acquired since the 1880s.

In addition to their beauty, many of the textiles featured in the exhibition incorporate spinning, weaving, dyeing and embroidery techniques. Highlights included block-printed textiles, known as Fustat fragments, believed to be made in Gujarat in the 1400s.

The exhibition featured a recently acquired work by artist Sangeeta Sandrasegar, What Falls from View, 2019. The work featured Khadi and silk pieces, hand-dyed in Indian indigo and Australian native cherry. Anu Kumar’s medium format photographs that document the Australian-Indian diaspora was another highlight of the exhibition.

Charkha and Kargha coincided with the 75th anniversary of India’s independence on 15 August. The exhibition demonstrated the role that textiles played in India’s movement towards independence from colonial rule.

It featured live demonstrations of spinning and weaving in the Textile Centre, talks on Indian textiles, master classes on textile weaving, dyeing and spinning, daily storytelling of Indian folktales and documentary film screenings in the Kings Cinema.

Charkha and Kargha was presented by Powerhouse with the support of the Consulate General of India, Sydney. Associate Professor Dr. Chaitanya Sambrani of the School of Art and Design, Australian National University supported as curatorial advisor. The exhibition was curated by Dr Pedram Khosronejad and assistant curator Alysha Buss with exhibition design by Hugh O’Connor. The project was managed by Anna Gardner and realised with the support of a multidisciplinary team of Powerhouse staff and collaborators.

IABCA was proud to collaborate with the Musuem in sharing this cultural artistic bilateral exchange with its Alumni Members. Visit the exhibit any day up to January 2023 and it’s free.

SAFAL Fest 2022

The 5th South Asian Film Arts and Literature Festival (Safal Fest 22) organised by Australian South Asian Forum Inc. (ASAF) was held on two weekends, week 1 Saturday 20th of September and week 2 Sunday the 28th of September at the Brush Farm House and was a great success.

Week I : At 9.30am Safal Fest 22 Chair Person Kedarnath Pagaddinnimath welcomed the Dignitaries, Councillors ,Community leaders and Members ,followed by a speech by the President of ASAF inc.and Safal Fest Director22 Ash Gholkar and Mayor City of Ryde Jordan Lane who officially inaugurated the Festival with the lighting of the lamp . After the Australian National Anthem the Safal Fest 22 team of Directors were introduced (Tahera Nassrat Afghanistan, Clr Sabrin Farooqui Bangladesh, Nagendra Adhikari Nepal, Shahid Malik Pakistan, Saliya Tennekoon, Kavitha and Jeyakumar Ramasamy, Kithsri Karunaratne Sri Lanka, Rekha Rajvanshi , Dyu D’Cunha India .

Events that were covered on Week one

Literature Panel Discussion (Fiction Panel) Authors Sharing their Journey and Book Readings, Poetry slam competition and finally the Performance Arts competition Solo Singing and Solo dance category both Female and Male . The Festival Ended around 6.30 pm. Week 2: Was Inaugurated by the newly elected Federal MP for Bennelong Jerome Laxale at 10 am and was well attended by dignitaries and community leaders and members

Events covered on Week 2

Art Exhibition Three Literature Panel Discussions

Non-Fiction Panel Research and Fact Requirements Plus Book Reading

Media Panel Political Interferance in

Media and Vice Versa Academics Panel Academic Literature to Best sellers

The Festival Ended around 6.30 pm. Week 1 and Week 2 of the Festival were very well attended.