VMPL
New Delhi [India], February 5: Tilfi, the distinguished Banaras-based textile and metal craft atelier, is the Programming Partner for the Young Collectors' Programme (YCP) 2026 and unveils Avimukta: The Never Forsaken, a monumental, site-responsive sculptural installation on view from 31 January to 8 February 2026 at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi.
The Young Collectors' Programme, one of the most dynamic initiatives within the India Art Fair ecosystem, takes over Triveni Kala Sangam as its central hub in 2026, coinciding with the institution's 75th anniversary. Conceived as a platform for new audiences to engage with contemporary art, YCP brings together exhibitions, talks, workshops, and interdisciplinary programming, nurturing the next generation of collectors and cultural patrons.
Tilfi's role as Programming Partner reflects a shared philosophy with YCP -- one rooted in continuity, mentorship, and long-term cultural stewardship. Known for its uncompromising dedication to handwoven Banarasi textiles and artisan-led metal craft, Tilfi's partnership underscores its belief in supporting emerging voices while grounding contemporary practice in inherited knowledge systems.
Unveiled as part of this collaboration, Avimukta: The Never Forsaken emerges from Tilfi's sustained engagement with the crafts and material vocabularies of Varanasi, a city understood through lived belief as one that is eternally held and never relinquished. Avimukta refers not only to a place, but to an ethic -- of holding on to materials, to skills, and to ways of knowing that resist erasure.
At its core stands a towering sculptural form clad in an assemblage of handwoven silk and zari remnants -- fragments drawn from the margins of the making process, too intricate and too considered to be discarded. Re-contextualised into a singular form, these textiles shift from the peripheral to the monumental, positioning craft as both inheritance and continuum. The surface becomes a reading of material memory, where each fragment carries traces of skilled hands and inherited wisdom.
In dialogue with this textile-clad pillar is a repousse metal artwork titled Contours of Kashi, meticulously hammered by hand on brass sheets. Tracing the skyline and spatial rhythms of the city, the metal panel introduces depth and layered relief, bearing the gentle irregularities of handwork. Together, textile and metal speak a shared tactile language -- bound by zari's subdued shimmer and a philosophy of mindful making.
Speaking on the partnership, Aditi Chand, Co-Founder, Tilfi, said:
"This collaboration allows us to bring craft-led thinking into a contemporary art context that values curiosity, learning, and long-term engagement. Through Avimukta, we wanted to create a work that invites reflection on continuity -- on how materials, skills, and cultural memory can be carried forward through new forms and audiences."
Standing at the intersection of tradition and contemporary expression, Avimukta: The Never Forsaken embodies Tilfi's commitment to material responsibility, artisan-led processes, and a living continuum of craft -- one that honours the past while remaining deeply present.
About Tilfi
Tilfi is a Banaras-based textile and metal craft atelier known for its proprietary handwoven silks, intricate zari work, and repousse metal art. Rooted in generations of artisanal knowledge, Tilfi's practice foregrounds material integrity, mindful production, and long-term collaboration with master craftsmen, positioning heritage as a living, evolving practice.
About the Young Collectors' Programme (YCP)
The Young Collectors' Programme is an initiative of India Art Fair designed to cultivate new audiences for contemporary art in India. Through exhibitions, learning programmes, studio visits, and interdisciplinary conversations, YCP fosters engagement, mentorship, and access for the next generation of collectors and cultural patrons.
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