Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum Coimbatore

Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum Coimbatore

 

Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum is located at Avinashi Road in Peelamedu at a distance of 10 km from Coimbatore,Tamilnadu,India.

 

Kasthuri Sreenivasan Trust was established in the year 1981 for the promotion of art and literature in India by Sri Kasthuri Sreenivasan, a pioneering textile scientist, and writer.

 

Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum : Founded by Kasthuri Sreenivasan (1917-1991) was among India’s most well-known textile technologists and industrial sociologists in the decades that followed the country’s independence.

He was born on 12th May, 1917 and spent his formative childhood years in Karadibavi, a hamlet on the outskirts of Coimbatore. Kasthuri Sreenivasan undergraduate degree in Physics from Presidency College, Chennai, he pursued a Masters Programme in Textile Technology at the College of Technology, Manchester, England.

 

His wife, Barbara Sreenivasan (6.3.1919) – (10.3.2005) was an artist and explored the watercolour medium in her work. The idea of building an art gallery and space for fellow artists was a common dream for the couple.

 

During their numerous visits to England, her home country, they made meticulous notes on how the gallery in Coimbatore would take shape.

 

He spent eight years in England and came back to India in 1944. He briefly worked with the family-owned textile mill, Kasthuri Mills before he took up the position as Founder Director of South India Textile Research Association (SITRA).

 

As an institution builder, he fostered an environment of scientific enquiry, applied research and successfully implemented several processes to document quality control in the spinning industry.

 

In time, SITRA also became a comprehensive solutions provider to the Spinning, knitting and power loom sectors. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1969. He was also conferred the Honor Summus medal by the Watumull Foundation, USA for his pioneering work in industrial sociology.

 

Kasthuri Sreenivasan was a prolific writer and wrote more than 25 books covering various genres such as non-fiction, fiction, short stories, poetry and plays. His work on industrial sociology is still widely read in academic circles.

 

He was among the very few of bilingual writers during his time and authored two books in Tamil. He was also an ambitious translator and undertook the work of Tirukkural, the Sundara Kandam from Kamba Ramayanam and Silappadhikaram.

 

The Culture Center consists of an art gallery, a textile museum, an auditorium and a library. The purpose of this museum is to promote art and literature. The museum was maintained by a private institution and houses a wide range of textile arts collections.

 

Art Gallery has many paintings and sculptures arranged in 10 rooms. Rooms 1 and 2 house traditional Indian Art. There are several Tanjore paintings in Room 1, some of them more than a hundred years old.

 

Many bronzes in the traditional South Indian style are also exhibited. Note-worthy among the sculptures are a terracotta head of the Gupta period and a stone figure from the Gandhara period. Room 2 contains some reproductions of Moghul art as well as bird paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries.

 

Room 1 & 2 :

 

Rooms 1 and 2 house traditional Indian Art. There are a number of Tanjore paintings some of them more than a hundred years old. A number of bronzes in the traditional South Indian style are also exhibited.

 

Note-worthy among the sculptures are a terracotta head of the Gupta period and a stone figure from Gandhara period. Room 2 contains a number of reproductions of Moghul art as well as bird paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries.

 

Room 3 : 

Thirty six paintings by Mrs. Barbara Sreenivasan are exhibited in Room 3. There are oils, water colours, collage, an unusual `portrait` of cotton made entirely of cotton except for the glass and frame.

 

There are also portraits in water colour which is an extremely difficult medium for portraying. The landscapes represents various parts of India from as far north as Kashmir and as far south as Mandapam. There are also one or two paintings from the United Kingdom.

 

Room 4 & 5 :

 

Rooms 4 and 5 contain art works of well-known modern artists. Painters such as Santhanaraj, Alphonso, Antonydoss, Senathipathi, Redappa Naidu, Thotta Tharani, Siva kumar, VSD. Arularasan and Nedunchezian are represented in the collection.

 

A bronze sculpture by the well-known sculptor Dhanabal is also of great interest. Reproductions of paintings by Abanindranath Tagore and Raja Ravi Varma are also exhibited.

 

Room 6 :

In room 6 (first floor) is shown examples of overseas art other than European. There are paintings and sculptures from Egypt, Japan, China, Thailand, Nigeria, Burma and Nepal.

 

Interesting exhibits in the section are the Tibetian Icon, shaped like a sword, said to belong to the 17th century and a sculpture from Africa.

 

Room 7, 8, 9 & 10 :

European art is shown in Room Nos.7, 8 & 9. These are mostly reproductions. There are paintings from various schools of European art from Leonardo da Vinci to Picasso. Room 9 contains reproductions of paintings by British artists in India during the 18th and 19th centuries.

 

Room 10 is left as an exhibition room for works of art by modern painters. Those who wish to exhibit their works can get in touch with the Kasthuri Sreenivasan Trust.

 

Textile Museum :

 

The textile museum in the Culture Centre brings together a chronological portrayal of the growth of the textile industry. Models of charkhas, spinning and knitting machines, a wide selection of stitches, weaves and knits, and displays donated by personal collectors makes the museum a must-see on the itinerary of travellers and textile enthusiasts.

 

Room 11, 12 & 13 :

 

We start with Room No.11 on the ground floor. The history of Textile technology is depicted in rooms 11, 12 & 13. Beginning with whorl wheels of Egypt and the spinning wheels of Mohanjadaro the growth and development of spinning and weaving is exhibited in these rooms through charts, models and actual machines in a few cases.

 

The development of the early stages of the Industrial Revolution are exhibited in their logical sequence.

 

There are a number of items of interest in the section. One is the Saxony spinning wheel (1530 AD). It makes use a foot pedal for imparting motion to the wheel and frees both hands for the process of spinning, so that it helps to increase production.

 

There is a 1000 year old fabric from a Nigerian cave. The Mule which is an automated version of the traditional spinning wheel and the Memorandum of articles of association of first mill in Coimbatore are also exhibited.

 

The different systems of yarn formation that have been developed in recent years and the yarn characteristics of each system are shown in the form of models in Room 13.

 

Room 14 :

 

Room 14 contains antique sarees, other textiles and artifacts. These belong to Craft Council of Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore and are exhibited by the courtesy.

 

Room 15 & 16 :

 

A history of costumes in India from the time of Mohanjadaro down to the 19th century is depicted in the form of pictures in Rooms 15 &16. Since no costumes of the past have survived, we have had to depend on sculptures of various periods for our information in this regard.

 

The use of unusual fibres such as banana fibre, pineapple fibre, screw pine and ramie are also illustrated in the form of samples in Room 15 in show case No.2.

 

A rare exhibit in the section is a piece of fine Muslin made from 400s metric count, hand spun and hand woven. A kilogram of this yarn would stretch to 400 kilo meters!

 

The richness of Textiles in general are shown in Room 16 of special interest is a Japanese wedding dress.

 

Room  17 :

 

Types of handlooms from various parts of India as well as sketches of various types of handlooms used by American Indians are exhibited in Room 17. Of special interest are six paintings on mica depicting handloom operations in India painted in the 17th century.

 

These paintings were taken by the East India Company to England to show their customers and were brought back by the Founder Trustee. Sarees of ancient design produced for the Festival of India are shown by the courtesy of the Ministry of Textiles.

 

The objective of the textile museum is not only for providing knowledge regarding the growth of textile from a technological as well as aesthetic point of view, but also to make the visitor feel proud about the rich heritage of Indian textiles.

 

We hope, you have enjoyed your visit to the Culture Centre. Suggestions for its improvement are welcome. We also hope that this centre has been a valuable addition to the intellectual and cultural life of our city.

 

Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum Auditorium :  

Auditorium  Details : Air conditioned 195 seats and equipped with modern P.A System, Meetings,Seminar, Workshop,Cultural activities

 

Coimbatore Cancer Foundation : The Coimbatore Cancer Foundation was started in 1991, following his battle with cancer. The goal of the foundation is to help alleviate the suffering that comes with cancer and to provide holistic support to patients and their families.

 

Barbara Sreenivasan Memorial Awards For Fine Arts : 

The Barbara Sreenivasan Memorial Awards for Fine Arts was instituted in 2008, to honour the memory of Mrs. Barbara Sreenivasan, whose water colour landscape work and portraits are exhibited in the Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery.

 

The awards are given to art students pursuing formal training in art colleges in the Southern states and carries a certificate, memento and cash prize. The awards are chosen by an eminent panel of judges and is conducted annually.

 

Barbara Sreenivasan was born in England and made India her home, following her marriage to Kasthuri Sreenivasan. The Culture Centre is in many ways a tribute to her aesthetics.

 

Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum Timings : 10:00 am to 06:00 pm,

 

Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum Entry Fee : Rs 20 Per person

 

Best time to visit Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum : September, October, November, December

 

Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum Address : 16, Avinashi Rd, Civil Aerodrome Post,, Peelamedu,, Coimbatore, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India - 641014

 

How to reach Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery & Textile Museum :

 

By Bus:- Singanallur Bus Stand is near Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery which is 6.0 km away.

 

By Rail:- The distance between Singanallur Railway Station and Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery is 6.0 km away.

 

By Air:- The distance from Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery to Coimbatore International Airport is 1.7 km.