Refashioned: Indigenous Textiles Today
Event Details
In Cusco, Peru, Nilda Callañaupa founded a women’s collective that encourages weavers from different communities to develop their practice as independent, sustainable artists. In San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico, fashion designer Alberto López challenged gender divisions to proudly claim his role as a weaver and designer. Together, Callañaupa and López will share how they are refashioning Indigenous textiles by recovering traditional designs and relearning ancient techniques, and most importantly, by empowering their communities of origin.
Funding provided by The College of Liberal Arts, College of Fine Arts, and the School of Architecture.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez
Born in the Quechua community of Chinchero, department of Cusco in southern Peru, she is founder and current director of the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (CTTC). The CTTC was founded in 1996 with the goal of recovering traditional designs, relearn ancient production techniques, and empower women weavers.
Alberto López Gómez
Born in the Tzotzil community of Aldama, state of Chiapas in Southern Mexico, he is a weaver, fashion designer, and front man of Kuxul’ Pok’, a fashion brand based in San Cristóbal de las Casas that features textile work of Tzotzil women. His work was most recently presented at 2020 New York Fashion Week.
Image Credit: Women working at the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (CTTC), Cusco.