Preservers, Innovators, and Rescuers of Culture in Chiapas

Center for Craft, Asheville, North Carolina, November 17, 2023 - July 13, 2024

Preservers, Innovators, and Rescuers of Culture in Chiapas featured eleven textiles by acclaimed Indigenous artisanas  (artists) from Chiapas, Mexico commissioned by US-based fiber artists and activist Aram Han Sifuentes. As part of their 2022 Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship, Han Sifuentes traveled to Chiapas to understand the function of garments and textiles within the social and cultural context of the area and to learn the traditional practice of backstrap weaving. Through the works that were on view, combined with a series of interviews Han Sifuentes conducted during her research, visitors learned about the artisanas and their role as preservers, rescuers, and innovators of culture and as protectors of Mayan ancestral knowledge. Together, these works presented an approach to connecting and learning about culture through craft practices. 

The featured artisanas included: Juana Victoria Hernandez Gomez from San Juan Cancuc, Maria Josefina Gómez Sanchez and Maria de Jesus Gómez Sanchez from Oxchujk (Oxchuc), Marcela Gómez Diaz and Cecilia Gómez Diaz from San Andrés Larráinzar, Rosa Margarita Enríquez Bolóm from Huixtán, Cristina García Pérez from Chalchihuitán, Susana Maria Gómez Gonzalez, Maria Gonzalez Guillén, and Anastacia Juana Gómez Gonzalez from Zinacantán, Angelica Leticia Gómez Santiz from Pantelhó, and Susana Guadalupe Méndez Santiz from Aldama

Photo credit: Aram Han Sifuentes, pictured artisanas: Susana Maria Gómez Gonzalez, Maria Gonzalez Guillén, and Anastacia Juana Gómez Gonzalez

c/o: Center for Craft

Role: Curator