JSW Foundation hosted ‘The Red Dress Project’ at Hampi Art Labs in November 2024. The Red Dress
was displayed, along with Knots that Bind, a specially curated selection of artwork from Sangita Jindal, chairperson of JSW Foundation.
Brainchild of British artist Kirstie Macleod, The Red Dress Project began in 2009. Today it carries the handwork of 380 embroiderers from 51 countries, among them refugees, asylum seekers, survivors of war, and women from marginalised communities. Each contribution adds a layer of personal narrative, transforming the fabric into a map of shared humanity.
The Red Dress Project, courtesy of Hampi Art Labs
This idea of interconnectedness extends through Knots That Bind, where material and meaning intersect. The exhibition reflects how craft and art can become vessels for memory and continuity, linking the personal to the collective.
From the symbolic study of roots and branches to the charged simplicity of knots and fibres, the exhibition traverses themes of nature, culture, and coexistence. Some works interpret matter as metaphor; others use it as a means of solidarity or resistance.
The Red Dress Project, courtesy of Hampi Art Labs
Taken together, these voices form a layered reflection on how creation itself, whether through paint, clay, or thread can become an act of connection. Knots That Bind reminds us that the fabric of art, like that of society, is woven through collaboration, empathy, and imagination.