After eight-month long engagement with the community, we were ready to showcase the work of our women in our very first community exhibition.

Through the mediums of embroidery and textiles, we shared stories; learnt about each others’ lives; laughed and cried over numerous cups of chai and our beloved snack, samosa; found common ground in our daily challenges despite our differences; exchanged gharelu nuske (homemade remedies) and relied on each other for ‘salah-mashwara ‘ (advice and wisdom).

With the guidance of exceptionally skilled artists and art educators, we didn’t just embroider our stories onto fabric; we also utilized it as a means to spark conversations and dialogues on challenging themes and issues.

Sometimes, Rafooghar serves as a space for ‘bhadaas nikalna’, where women release their pent-up emotions or frustrations. At other times, it transforms into a place for ‘jee halka karna,’ providing a lighter environment to escape from the harsh realities of daily life. We heard words like ‘maika’ (mother’s home) being used to describe Rafooghar, but the most heartfelt acknowledgement of this shared space came from a young participant who shared the following when asked about why her self-portrait is so colourful, “I can be whoever I like to be here”.

“ I can be whoever I want to be here”- Kanchan

As soon as the dates of the community exhibition got finalized, the level of excitement at Rafooghar shot up. Women started spending more time at the centre to give finishing touches to their work and to the Lihaaf.

We created an overall plan for the exhibition and everyone, according to their interests and availability, took up volunteering duties for the event.

Women decided to make bags to sell at the exhibition and suddenly the centre was full of activity, from morning to late evening.

We decided to get everyone’s works framed as that added a sense of preciousness to their work. Many of the women had spoken about feeling unheard, about not having a say in decisions at home. So when they saw that their work framed, they felt a sense of validation, reassured that their voices matter and that their stories deserve to be seen and heard.

*Freshly Framed artworks, basking in the sun!*

A day before the exhibition, women and kids came to the venue to set up the exhibition. Rafooghar bags and tshirts were specially printed for the event.

Two dilapidated cottages in the garden were fixed to be turned into exhibition galleries.

Since the entire exhibition was faciliated by the women, from doing walkthroughs to leading the talk sessions, to running food stalls and taking orders for the bags., it really helped in building their self-confidence. Going from being unheard at home to having their stories valued was impactful.

We invited Mohd. Intiyaz-a visual artist originally from Jharkhand, but migrated to Delhi due to unrest and uncertainty to Azad Lab (free speech-artist in conversation with women of Rafooghar series) in which Rehnuma and Pinky took centrestage and engaged in free flowing conversations with Intiyaz. They discussed creative processes and explored the powerful ways in which art allows us to express and share our unique narratives.

In the garden area, embroidered hoops from the mark-making exercises were displayed on the trees, alongside photographs of the people and the process.

Bags made by the women were also hung up on the trees. The women took turns managing the space- speaking to visitors, sharing stories, and taking orders for the bags.

Two different workshops - Expressive Portraits by Shivangi Singh and Stitching Radical Hope by Rubina Singh were also organized as a part of our Dil Bagh Bagh( Garden Gathering) series. Our community collaborator-Yusra Khan from Yellow Streets also organized games and activities for the community kids.

We also set up a Baithak in which our work in progress Love Lihaaf (the quilt of love) was displayed and everyone was free to join in and stitch with our women and give final touches to our community quilt-made by piecing together individual narratives of everyone from Rafooghar.

*Collective Stitching- Love Lihaaf Baithak in progress*

When we started Rafooghar, it was difficult to get the women to attend a 2-hour workshop, but seeing them spend so much time at the center and then two whole days at the exhibition was heartwarming. The engagement on our WhatsApp group has skyrocketed. Previously, women rarely replied to our messages, but now they’re sending voice recordings, sharing their thoughts, and eagerly asking about Rafooghar’s future plans. They’re even bringing more women to the center to join in the activities.

A big thank you to everyone who came for our exhibition and made Kalindi Kunj the coolest place in town for two days.

Daastaan-e-Rafoo : Stories in Stitches

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