Today we’d like to introduce you to Anju Kataria.
Hi Anju, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I started collecting treasures from around the world when I was a child growing up in India. Even after I moved to Minneapolis over 40 years ago, I continued to travel globally and began to work with talented craftspeople who were carrying on indigenous artistic traditions. I started Khazana, which means “treasure” in Urdu, as a gallery, boutique, and community gathering space. I wanted Khazana to feel like the home of a well-traveled, artistic friend who always welcomes you with a glass of chai and a comfortable chair to sit in, laugh, and share stories. We moved to our new location on Lyndale in 2011 and have continued our mission of bringing beautiful treasures from around the world to the Twin Cities by supporting and connecting with local and international artists.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the challenges has been to help visitors to Khazana understand the value of handmade things and the time and artistry that goes into making these treasures. Everything that we sell at Khazana is made by hand by an artist and often represents a long-standing artistic tradition. Whether the artist lives in the Twin Cities or in a small village in India, the treasures found at Khazana have often taken an artist an enormous amount of time and energy to create. This can also be a challenge–sometimes artists take longer than promised to deliver their artwork! These are not things that are mass-produced in factories, but rather treasured art forms that require patience and creativity. In our fast-paced, on-demand world, sometimes people are unfamiliar with this older way of making and valuing things. One of our jobs at Khazana is to share the stories and traditions behind these art forms and introduce our customers to the passionate artists whose work we support.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Khazana?
Most of what we sell at Khazana is folk and tribal art predominantly from India. We have new and antique textiles, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, rare books, and handmade clothing. Many of the treasures that we sell at Khazana represent artistic traditions that are slowly disappearing. In our own small way, we are trying to help keep these traditions alive and support the indigenous artists who make them.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Minneapolis is a culturally diverse and artistic city. People care about the arts and are excited about supporting the work of artists. This is one of things I love about our city. My least favorite thing is the cold: despite being here for over 40 years, I still find the winters challenging!
Pricing:
- Khazana has treasures that start as low as $1 and go up into the thousands
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.khazana.com
- Instagram: khazanamsp
- Facebook: @KhazanaMinneapolis
Image Credits
Khazana
