On November 7, the University of Iowa Weaving Our Community Network partnered with the Pentacrest Museums and the Stanley Museum of Art to create an event centered around artistic culture and community building, focusing on traditions like weaving and beadwork.
The event took place in the Stanley Museum of Art, where Binh Nguyen, the coordinator for the Weaving Our Community Network, spearheaded the event alongside Pentacrest Museum Director of Education and Engagement Carolina Kaufman, the Stanley Museum of Art’s Curator of Education Kimberly Datchuk, and the UI Libraries Special Collections and Archives, and Outreach and Instruction Librarian Ursula Romero.
“When deciding on these events, it really comes down to [Weaving Our Community Network’s] mission of community building and what things we prioritize. In the [Weaving Our Community Network], it’s recognizing people, skills, and identities that are historically underrecognized,” Nguyen explained.
As well as offering a tour of notable pieces of art in the Stanley, the event also doubled as a sort of workshop.
In order to fully immerse attendees in the culture of crafts like weaving and beadwork, the Weaving Our Community Network brought in Griselda Lopez, a local Guatemalan weaver. After the tour of certain pieces in the Stanley, Lopez aided the event as attendees tried their hand at weaving their own bracelets.
At the beginning of the event, it was explained that Lopez was no stranger to weaving. Kaufman was generous enough to translate, as English is not Lopez’s first language.
“I started weaving when I was ten, after watching my mom and grandmother. I told them I wanted to learn, and they simply told me to ‘pick up some yarn.’ I have experimented with different designs and patterns over the years but have always had a specific interest in bracelets,” Griselda said in Spanish, translated by Kaufman. “Now, I am teaching my children to weave, because I don’t want this generational tradition to stop.”
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The event also promoted a great deal of sharing and diversity. Instead of simply being lectured to about the different art pieces that were featured, guests were encouraged to share their connections or stories and promote conversation among the group.
Stefany Naranjo, a UI Center for Advancement employee and member of the Weaving Our Community Network, expressed her appreciation for the event.
“I think I knew coming to this event that I wanted to be around people who I know I’m safe around. I feel like it’s very healing, and I was so intrigued by the weaving itself,” Naranjo said.
Kaufman, one of the event organizers, also voiced a deep appreciation for the event and how it came to be.
“I love thinking about how we can build community and connection around interesting topics that people can relate to. The meaning-making and interpretation of a piece [doesn’t] happen by itself,” Kaufman said. “The object can’t come alive in a way without some sort of human interpretation or dialogue or communication.”
During the event, guests were shown pieces by artists like Sonya Clark and Jeffrey Gibson, as well as collections that were brought in by Romero. The pieces had a significant focus on handiwork, such as beading and weaving, going along with the theme of the event.
Additionally, the pieces seemed to have a special focus on both Native cultures and Filipino cultures, as well as a few Latin American ones.