Virtual Event
… Pushka, pushkita… our partner, you are here, and we are also here to spin… together with the K’anti we interlace our threads, joining our paths… (Andean song dedicated to the drop spindles Pushka and K’anti)
Fiber and Material Studies Fall 2021 Mitchell Lecture Series
Zoom link
This lecture brings together members of the Noqanchis group (Union of Textile Artists - Andes of Peru), recently formed by prominent young Indigenous weavers from Pitumarca, Peru, Alipio Melo and Danitza Willka, together with artist María José Murillo (SAIC MFA 2019). In Quechua, noqanchis translates to "we all". It is an inclusive 'we' (+) as opposed from noqayku, which refers to a restrictive 'we' (-). Unlike Western languages, Quechua maintains the same root for 'I' [noqa] and for 'we' [noqanchis/noqayku], demonstrating the inseparable link between the individual and the community in the construction of Andean identity. The presentation will create a space for the weavers to speak from their most personal voice, thereby subverting the historical representations that the western perspective has imposed on indigenous cultures. Textile artists from Pitumarca – better known as "The Capital of Andean Weaving" – will share reflections on how they keep their traditions alive, focusing on the ancestral and trans-temporal technology of the backstrap loom as a tool for contemporary cultural production. In this way, weaving is lived in the Andes not only as an activity, but also as an episteme, establishing relationships between the Earth beings and the Cosmos, between the past and the future.
The Fiber and Material Studies department’s annual Mitchell Lectureship Series features outstanding artists and scholars in the field of fiber. These lectures are made possible by the generous support of the William Bronson and Grayce Slovett Mitchell Lectureship in Fiber and Material Studies. This event will be presented in Spanish with live simultaneous translation into English. Live CART captioning in English will be available. For additional access requests, including ASL interpretation or audio description, visit saic.edu/access.
This event is free and open to the public.
