Karun Thakar

A prolific collector and researcher of textiles, Karun Thakar has refined his discerning approach over forty years, building one of the most important private collections in the world. He believes that every textile in his collection has a story to tell about the people who made it and the way that they lived. He lends and donates pieces to international museums to deepen the understanding of what they mean and the cultures to which they belong. Through cloth and his wider collection, he hopes to contribute to a wider understanding of postcolonial narratives. A key aspect of his collecting, exhibiting and publishing is to present objects, such as domestic embroidery, that are not represented in museum collections, and to engage a new audience and demographic through these objects and their many untold narratives. He believes that exploring people’s histories through the medium of cloth offers an ideal way to address difficult and complex topics both contemporary and historical. He has published seven books about his collection, and in 2021 launched the Karun Thakar Fund at the V&A. The fund offers scholarships and grants of up to £10,000 to students, early career researchers and emerging practitioners working anywhere in the world on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress.