International Folk Art Market 2022

by Debbie Durham Image above: Yanet Soto of CTTC The International Folk Art Market (IFAM) is held annually in Santa Fe, NM in July.  Many WARP members volunteer at the Market, filling roles ranging from delivering water or box lunches to helping artists with sales in their booths. 2022 was my second year volunteering, with … Read more

WARP Volunteers Speak Out

Volunteering for WARP can be hard work or light. Fun or serious. Big job or small. In a team or isolated. There are many opportunities requiring many skills and welcoming many personalities. What follows are notes from some of our current 23 volunteers – over and above the nine on the board – women whose … Read more

Some Challenges in Artisan Production in Guatemala

by  Julio Alfredo Cardona Morales Photography by Mark Van Wormer Image above: A group of weavers in San Rafael, Rabinal: Gilberta Gonzalez, Berta Cuja, Bernarda Morales, Celestina Gonzalez, and two others who have left the group. NOTA: puede ver la historia en español abajo del inglés Labor Supply in Guatemala Guatemala is a country with … Read more

Introduction to Embroidery from the Arab World

by Ansie van der Walt Image above: a Ramallah (Palestine) head shawl, photo from @tirazcentre In her book Threads of Identity, Widad Kawar tells the stories of four women she knew who played a significant role in not only creating beautiful tahriry embroidery and malak outfits but in spreading its legacy across Palestine and beyond. Women from Beit Dajan … Read more

Working Beyond the Museum

by Tara Gujadhur What do you imagine when you think of a museum? Spare displays of ancient objects on a white wall? Taxidermy? Tiny print labels with obscure words, the name of a donor, and an accession number? In the 21st century there has been the much overdue recognition that the traditional model of a … Read more

Creating Connections through Stories

by Linda Ligon If you’re a weaver, maybe over the age of 40, and someone says “green book,” you know exactly what they’re talking about. That label doesn’t describe the title or the content or name the author, but its existence since 1944 has created an ecosystem of readers—tens of thousands of them—for whom it … Read more