Celebrating the weaving arts of Bangladesh

The International Weavers Festival (IWF), a first of its kind event, is hosted in Bangladesh by TS Events to celebrate and promote the weaving arts of our country. Tootli Rahman, the founder and convener of the festival, launched Bangladesh Heritage Crafts Foundation, an organisation that promotes different facets of Bangladesh's heritage and culture, including the art of weaving, in May 2018.

This year, the fourth edition of the IWF was organised in the capital, in February, with Nasrul Hamid, MP, State Minister, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, as the chief guest. In celebration of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the festival's fourth edition was based on a very different theme.

"This year, we took the responsibility to fulfill Bangabandhu's dream of a 'Shonar Bangla' not just in our country, but also globally," mentioned Tootli Rahman. "On the other hand, Bangladesh Heritage Crafts Foundation has started training women from underprivileged backgrounds in design and colour schemes, on a small scale." 

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To promote local weavers and artists, the IWF 2020, under the theme,  'Artists' Impressions of Bangladesh' included a fashion show, featuring fusion attires, which were made from  Bangladeshi khadi, silk,  cotton, muslin,  Mirpur benarasi and jamdani.

The show also included paintings by renowned artists Kanak Chanpa Chakma and Jamal Ahmed as well as folk, poth chitro and rickshaw artworks, among other things. Bridal collections by Seema Hamid were also launched, featuring new and unique trends in Mirpur benarasi attires.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, State Minister, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, along with Emilia Celemin Redondo, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, Bangladesh, were present as honourable guests at the event.

Tootli Rahman requested the government to provide a venue for a 'heritage village' that will include different crafts, films and other cultural aspects of Bangladesh under one roof for our future generations to learn from. She further added that our culture, language, history and values are vital in uniting the people of the nation.