Acts of Making | Movements in crafts, vernacular architecture and art rooted in Ladakh's ecology | 9th - 11th January 2006 | Opening on 9th Jan 2006 at 5 PM
1Shanthiroad Studio
Acts of Making
Movements in crafts, vernacular architecture and art rooted in Ladakh’s ecology
9th - 11th January, 2026 @ 1Shanthiroad Studio/Gallery, Bengaluru
Grounded in conservation and ecology, a range of research initiatives at Palay House, Phey (Ladakh) have informed practices in art, design and architecture.
What is Felt, What is Seen, the first showcase in this exhibition is dedicated to the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026. It brings together experimental felt works crafted from indigenous sheep wool from Changthang, created by nomadic community members from Chibra in the Kargyam Valley, as part of an ongoing design and entrepreneurial development project. Their lives and livelihoods are inseparable from the high-altitude rangelands of Ladakh, and the works reflect this deep entanglement with land, animals, and seasonal rhythms.
The Rantak, is a collaborative effort to revive a rantak—a traditional watermill—in Phey. Rooted in intergenerational knowledge, cultural continuity, and ecologically-grounded innovation, this process-led work seeks to reframe contemporary conversations around governance of commons, and socio-economic aspirations.
The third showcase features artworks from a fellowship and artist residency titled Kaleidoscopic Fields, Ladakh in partnership with BeFantastic. Focusing on the region and its diverse culinary traditions, it explores the evolving relationships between technology, art and people, and reflects on how these intersections are reshaping everyday practices and imaginaries.
Together these exhibits trace an arc of biocultural and embodied knowledge systems, where craft becomes a language of resilience; where ancestral techniques encounter contemporary ecological transformations; and where communities negotiate identity, change, and new rhythms in a rapidly transforming world.
We warmly invite you to join us in this celebration.
Exhibition Opens
5 PM, Friday 9th January, 2026
On view
10th & 11th January 2026
11 AM - 7 PM
Programme
9 January, Friday, 6 PM
Opening and walk with curator and artists
—
10 January, Saturday, 4:30 PM
Conversation on wool with Jigisha Patel and Aditi Ranjan
—
11 January, Sunday, 11:30 AM
storytelling session with Stanzin Namgyal
Principal collaborators:
Achi Association India, Arthshila, ATREE, Be Fantastic, 1Shanthiroad Studio/Gallery
Field Architects Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Unnu Textiles, Freo Majer, Ajaibghar
Scenography, Debanshu Bhaumik, Samarth Bellare