Language, Craft and Community: In conversation with Clare Hunter and Ekta Kaul

​Ekta Kaul is an artist and author known for her narrative maps, which intricately explore themes of place, history, and belonging through the mediums of stitch and abstract painting. Her works are included in public collections, including the London Museum, the Crafts Council, the Gunnersbury Museum as well as in numerous private collections including Morgan Stanley. A recipient of the Cockpit Arts Textile Prize (2021), Ekta is also the author of Kantha: Sustainable Textiles & Mindful Making, nominated for the R L Shep Award for the best book of 2025 in the field of global textile traditions. Ekta will be a Fellow in Creative Textile Arts at Merton College, Oxford, in Michaelmas 2026. She lives and works in London.

​Clare Hunter is a community textile artist, exhibition curator, banner maker and writer. Her first book, Threads of Life: A History the World Through the Eye of the Needle (2019) was radio four book of the week. In 2023, she published Embroidering her Truth: Mary Queen of Scots and the Language of Power and her latest book, Making Matters: In Search of Creative Wonders explores everyday acts of creative making and their importance for human relationships around the world.

​Clare and Ekta will discuss their craft and their publications and will be available to sign copies of their books after the event.

​This talk is in conjunction with the ‘Tender Whispers from the Heart‘ exhibition.