About Us
The Far East Art Studio was founded in London in 2016 as a family-run practice by Madhumita, Pranab, Somnath, and Rajeswari, with a vision to celebrate and promote the rich traditions of handmade crafts from Asia. Our early work focused on highlighting the skills, stories, and cultural heritage embedded in handcrafted objects and artisanal practices across the region.
As our engagement with traditional crafts deepened, our focus gradually shifted towards textiles—becoming a long-term exploration of the history, techniques, and cultural significance of South Asia’s diverse weaving traditions.
Our first textile research projects took us to the weaving communities of Dhonekhali in West Bengal and Kotpad in Odisha. Working closely with these clusters allowed us to understand not only the processes of making, but also the social, historical, and material contexts that shape each tradition.
This journey later extended to Dhaka, where we began working with Jamdani weavers in Sonargaon and Rupganj. The extraordinary sophistication of the Jamdani tradition reinforced our belief that traditional textiles are not merely objects of craft, but repositories of knowledge, memory, and cultural continuity.
Without a formal background in textiles, we approached the field through immersion and research. We studied historical textile literature, out-of-print publications, museum collections, and archival records to understand the evolution of design, technique, materials, and visual language. This research became foundational to our design practice.
Over time, this research-led approach has become one of our defining strengths. Museum archives and historical documentation are treated as active sources of knowledge—equally important as the loom in shaping our work. Through this lens, we study how motifs evolve, how colour systems develop, and how regional weaving traditions transform over time.
Today, research remains central to The Far East Art Studio. Our practice bridges historical knowledge and contemporary creation, drawing from archival sources to create new textiles.
We see traditional textiles as living traditions—continuously evolving through interpretation, exchange, and making. By working between archives and weaving communities, we aim to contribute to the ongoing regeneration of South Asia’s textile heritage.
Based primarily in Kolkata,our family has grown into a collaborative practice of designers and artists who share a deep commitment to the study, preservation, and reimagining of historic textile languages.
Madhumita, Pranab, Som & Rajeswari