Anupa Mehta Contemporary Art (AMCA), a Mumbai-based gallery, presents Where the River Meets the Sea, an exhibition that brings together textile art by six prominent contemporary women artists: Alamu Kumaresan, Aparajita Jain Mahajan, Dr. Savia Viegas, Hansika Sharma, Lakshmi Madhavan, and Meenakshi Nihalani. Conceptualized by Anupa Mehta with curatorial text by Goa-based historian and curator Lina Vincent, the show explores the evolving possibilities of textile-based practices within Indian contemporary art.
Running until September 11, 2025, at AMCA, Colaba, the exhibition situates textile traditions within broader feminist, cultural, and artistic discourses.
Speaking about the concept, Anupa Mehta explains, “The river, a symbol of life’s journey, personal growth, memory, transformation, and hybridity, can be read as a metaphor for the creative and artistic impulse flowing through an artist’s work. At the point where it merges with the sea, it becomes part of a larger whole—a more universal truth. The exhibition is thus an invitation to reflect on this impulse within each artist’s practice, even as it positions textile art as a medium for feminist reflection.”
Each artist presents a unique visual vocabulary that draws from ancestry and tradition while remaining contemporary in form. Their works celebrate feminine resilience and highlight the vital role of women’s voices in shaping today’s art narratives. Alongside, selected artworks will be offered at special prices, creating an accessible entry point for collectors and first-time buyers interested in textile art.
Providing historical context, critic Lina Vincent notes, “A glimpse at the textile map of the Indian subcontinent reveals an abundant heritage: yarns, weaves, block-making and printing, dyeing processes, appliqué, embroideries, and specialised karigari thrive in every region. Woven textiles preserve memory in their warp and weft; they represent culture and social evolution, deeply entwined with the histories of politics, trade, and colonialism. Textile and its decoration are coloured by gendered experience, with forms of needlework, embroidery, knitting, and quilting are often relegated to the space of craft and feminine domesticity.”
She further adds that contemporary artists are bringing textile and fibre art into the mainstream, dissolving boundaries between artisans, artists, and designers. In India, this shift reflects a growing acceptance of textile art as a serious medium of cultural expression and activism.
Where the River Meets the Sea continues this legacy, with six women artists exploring themes of memory, materiality, feminism, and socio-cultural change. Their creations weave personal and political narratives, resonating deeply with audiences at a time when textile art is witnessing a global resurgence.
The exhibition underscores how women artists are at the forefront of reimagining textile practices—blending lineage with contemporary thought, and positioning fibre and embroidery as both art and activism.
