Shrujan Gallery One

The Shrujan LLDC Gallery One project has been a milestone in our professional excellence as it has led to the development of one of the best Textile Museums in India.

The Shrujan trust has been spearheading community based development through the restoration of textile arts in the arid regions of Kutch, Western India since 1960. 

The Living and Learning Design Centre houses three exquisite galleries for which Matrika Design Collaborative has been engaged as the primary museum design consultant.

Gallery One marks the commissioning of the gallery space dedicated to the development of a space which exhibits the lifestyle and works of ten prominent communities of Kutch involved in embroidery work.

The Design of this gallery was based on months of on field work and participatory approaches with the Shrujan Team which led to the development of layered strategies involving the collection, personal and community biographies, iconography, lifestyle markers amongst other intrinsic elements to form the final exhibition of their life and works.

Being a gallery of textiles, care was taken to ensure that the macro and micro-climatic to extend the longevity of the collections. This was achieved by controlling the air circulation, maintaining temperatures and with the optimum use of display lighting. 

The Gallery Layout is a sinuous track of displays with a sequential description of communities starting with the Ahirs and ending with the Haleputras of the salt stretches of Rann. Two Layers of visual information arise from the display, first the photographs of community members followed by the display of their work in panels and apparel form.

The gallery also carries breakout spaces which display sections for crafts and turban/headgear alongside areas which introduce the art of embroidery to the visitors

The design and display of this museum gallery remains unique and marks a paradigm shift for Indian Museums in the years to come.