This July 4, the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, N.M., is kicking off its first annual International Folk Arts Week with the debut of “Empowering Women: Artisan Cooperatives That Transform Communities” and the inauguration of a Gallery of Conscience, a space dedicated to exploring the contemporary issues that affect folk art production and consumption.
The International Folk Arts Week, being held from July 4-11, will feature demonstrations, lectures, folk music, performances and other programs held in conjunction with the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, which is running from July 9 through July 11.
The exhibition, which runs through Jan. 2, 2011, profiles 10 artist cooperatives that show how grassroots collaborations can transform women’s lives, portraying examples of handmade traditional arts that tell these women’s stories. The featured cooperatives were drawn from three continents and 10 countries including India, Nepal, Swaziland, South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Bolivia, Laos, Peru and Morocco. Featured folk arts include embroidered story cloths, hand-dyed sisal baskets, beaded neck collars, hand carded and dyed wool weavings, cultivated bromeliad bags and folk paintings of village life.
“As the largest folk art museum in the world we have a responsibility to create a forum to discuss current issues that folk artists are facing around the world. This ‘Gallery of Conscience’ will be devoted to the examination of issues that threaten the survival of the traditional arts, bringing them to the attention of our visitors,” said Marsha Bol, director of the Museum of International Folk Art.
Museum of International Folk Art
505-476-1200
www.internationalfolkart.org
