Ancestry and Artistry: Maya Textiles of Guatemala — Exhibiton

Ancestry and Artistry: Maya Textiles from Guatemala celebrates the vibrant living culture of the Maya through an examination of traje, the elaborate traditional dress which is the primary visual expression of Maya identity in Guatemala today. Traje plays a crucial role in Maya tradition and community life, as cloth holds great importance for the Maya. Traje serves as a preservation tool for Maya ideas, practices and world views, but also reflects the ways in which Maya culture has adapted and responded to contemporary realities. The use of new materials and technologies in garment production, the political upheavals caused by the civil war, the introduction of Maya weaving within the global crafts market, and religious transformation within Maya communities reveal both the opportunities and challenges for cultural survival for the Maya today. The exhibition also features the work of contemporary artists Andrea Aragón and Verónica Riedel of Guatemala and US photo-journalist Jean-Marie Simon, three women who are intimately connected to the country and have been close observers of the evolution of Maya cultural identity and present-day politics in Guatemala. Their work provides insight into the everyday life of the Maya as well as profiling how the Maya have come to terms with recent challenges to their communities. Curated by Roxane Shaughnessy and organized by the Textile Museum of Canada with the support of the Museums Assistance Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage and Joan VanDuzer. Exhibition continues to December 13, 2014.
Location:
Nickle Galleries – Taylor Family Digital Library
More information at http://www.ucalgary.ca/events/calendar/ancestry-and-artistry-maya-textiles-guatemala-exhibiton