is a collaborative art project by Munich-based artists Sara Hashmi and Janina Totzauer, together with the Pakistani arts and culture organisation Laajverd, represented by its founder Dr Zahra Hussain and its director Fatima Hussain.
In September 2026, together with women from the high-altitude town of Skardu in the Baltistan region, they will create a series of collaboratively designed patchwork embroideries that explore themes of resilience, care and collective strength. The textile patterns draw on coping strategies and traditional knowledge passed down through generations to survive the long periods of winter isolation in the Himalayas. These time-honoured practices are translated into embroidered narratives that interweave personal stories with a shared cultural memory.
The project creates a collective safe space – by women, for women – in which artistic collaboration becomes a means of exchange, self-empowerment and mutual support. It culminates in a communal celebration, at which the jointly created textile works are presented to the public for the first time.
This is where you come in!
Every woman taking part in our project is to receive a grant so that her family doesn’t suffer any financial loss whilst she’s away during the project period. We’re currently still short of €720 to cover this.
If you’d like to support the art, the local female artists and our project directly,
please buy some art!
100 per cent of the proceeds from every artwork goes towards the local scholarships.
Contact: janina.totzauer(at)gmail.com
