Making Space:Sensing Place

In October 2009, along with artist Thurle Wright, I was awarded a Making Space:Sensing Place Fellowship; part of the HAT: Here and There International Exchange Programme, managed by A Fine Line:Cultural Practice. The Fellowship includes residencies with Britto Arts in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with Arts Reverie in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with The V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, London and with The Harley Gallery, Nottinghamshire. Working and collaborating with artists and craftspeople from the UK, Bangladesh and India, responding to the collections and spaces we encounter and sharing these experiences through a touring exhibition and educational workshops.

This blog, which is still developing and being added to, is a record of my experiences during the MS:SP Fellowship. Steven Follen.
www.stevenfollen.com

Saturday 6 February 2010

A trip to Dhamrai - Shopping



En-route to Dhamrai Metal Casting we stopped for Puri (street snacks) and I brought some things from a shop along the main road. A beautiful rice winnowing basket (40p) and some of the brushes (10p each), similar to the ones I had eyed before in Old Dhaka.

I like the palette of colours, the quality of the natural materials, their sustainability and the way in which they are constructed. The shop display was wonderful, hand forged nails, fans, baskets, jute….. I also brought some spinning tops (8p each), which immediately animated all the Britto boys, who got very excited about the chance to play. Mahbub demonstrated so quickly I was unable to record how to spin the tops but I did learn how to check if a spinning top is good - you must place it between your finger and thumb and turn it to see if the nail in the base runs true. I later asked an expert to demonstrate how to use them. Film.