Union Minister of Textiles Shri Giriraj Singh will inaugurate Handloom Haat: The Handloom Experience Centre at Janpath, New Delhi, on 14 August 2026, marking a significant step towards creating a distinctive public destination for experiencing, understanding and engaging with India’s rich handloom heritage. The re-envisioned Handloom Haat will bring together heritage, knowledge, contemporary design, enterprise and retail under one roof.

The Handloom Experience Centre has been envisioned as a showcase of India’s handloom ecosystem, where traditional knowledge is not only preserved and interpreted, but actively practised, experienced and taken forward. Visitors will be able to explore the materials, processes, techniques and stories behind handwoven textiles, encounter contemporary expressions of handloom and discover products from weavers and handloom brands.

From Heritage to Contemporary Design

The inaugural showcase will feature 24 award-winning weavers through an exhibition organised by the National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC), alongside 30+ curated brands participating through Weave The Future 5.0.

The fifth edition of ‘Weave The Future’ showcased in the ground and first floor will bring together weavers, designers, brands, researchers and other stakeholders to advance sustainable, circular and craft-led approaches to textiles. Its showcase at Handloom Haat will feature contemporary products developed through handloom and regenerative materials, with a focus on indigenous fibres, material innovation and responsible textile practices. It will also feature installations exploring India’s indigenous fibre landscape and the relationship between geography, agriculture, ecology and textile production.

The retail experience at Handloom Haat will therefore extend beyond conventional shopping, offering visitors an opportunity to discover the diversity, quality and contemporary relevance of Indian handlooms while creating greater visibility and market access for weavers and handloom enterprises.

A Multi-Layered Handloom Experience

The inauguration will offer guests a curated journey across the three floors of Handloom Haat, highlighting different dimensions of India’s handloom ecosystem.

As part of the inaugural experience, a temporary exhibition, on the ground floor, titled “Reimagining Odisha Weaves — Cloth | Craft | Creativity | Community” by Vriksh Designs will showcase how contemporary design can revitalise regional textile traditions through collaboration between designers and master weavers. The exhibition will highlight the revival of lesser-known and forgotten Odisha traditions such as Ganjam Bomkai and Dhalapathar Tapestry, alongside innovations in Ikat, Jaala and Phoda weaving, natural dyes, new colourways, textures, motifs and product forms.

The first floor will centre on the Visvakarma Gallery, a permanent gallery, bringing together rare textiles from the landmark Visvakarma exhibition series (1981–1991), which brought together weavers, designers, scholars and cultural patrons in an exploration of India’s diverse handloom traditions. Produced through Weavers’ Service Centres in close collaboration with weaving communities, these textiles demonstrate the coming together of technical skill, creative imagination and contemporary inquiry in Post-independent India. This gallery will also pay a tribute to Sant Kabir awardees and Padma Shri awardees, recognising individual practitioners whose exceptional contributions have expanded the practice, understanding and visibility of Indian handlooms.

The second floor will feature Design Conclave and an immersive experience that will take visitors on a visual and sensory journey inspired by India’s forests and the rich repertoire of animal, bird, floral and natural motifs found across diverse handloom traditions.

A New Destination for Handloom Excellence, Experience and Enterprise

The re-envisioned Handloom Haat aims to strengthen the visibility and market presence of Indian handlooms while creating opportunities for weavers, designers and handloom enterprises. By bringing together heritage, contemporary practice, retail and public engagement, it seeks to create a closer connection between India’s handloom communities and contemporary audiences.

With its integrated approach to Handloom Excellence, Experience and Enterprise, Handloom Haat at Janpath is envisioned as a prominent destination where visitors can encounter the many dimensions of India’s handloom traditions- from the people and processes behind the cloth to its contemporary possibilities.

The inauguration on 14 August 2026 will mark the beginning of this new chapter for Handloom Haat, envisioned as “The Handloom Experience Centre”, a space where India’s living textile heritage can be seen, understood, experienced and taken forward.

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MAM/VN

 

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