Weaving in Nagaland has long been sustained by women, whose knowledge and skill are passed from one generation to the next. More than a technical process, weaving is a rhythm of daily life — measured in gestures of patience, resourcefulness, and persistence. Despite shifting materials, markets, and external pressures, the practice has endured. Its resilience speaks to the determination of women weavers to maintain traditions of cloth-making while adapting to changing circumstances.
The shawls presented here, collected from the 1930s onwards by an early British traveller, are modest examples made as gifts rather than formal works of art. Yet they carry within them the trace of a broader story: of weaving as continuity, of women as keepers of skill, and of communities sustained through shared labour.
The exhibition is complemented by workshops that allow visitors in London to encounter weaving directly, using accessible looms designed for beginners. In addition, contemporary voices from Naga weavers are interwoven into the display, creating dialogue with London’s own weaving communities. Threads of Skill thus becomes not only a presentation of objects, but also a meeting point — connecting past and present, Nagaland and London, through the shared language of cloth.
