Continuing Textile Traditions: ONG DIMA
Dispositif d’Initiatives pour les Métiers de l’Artisanat (DIMA) is a nonprofit vocational training school located in Niamey, Niger, offering programs in weaving, tailoring, and leather working. This conversation about DIMA was presented by Soumana Saley, the President and Founder of DIMA, Judith Sen, DIMA textile design volunteer, and Dr. Genevieve Hill-Thomas, educator and DIMA volunteer.
Meet a Member: Fireside Chat with Jennifer Moore
Jennifer Moore specializes in exploring mathematical patterns in doubleweave wall hangings. She has exhibited throughout the world, receiving numerous awards for her work, and has been featured in many weaving publications.
Continuing Textile Traditions: Espace Fann
Tucked in a small studio near the sea in Beirut, Espace Fann is a creative school offering university-level art and design courses. Amidst the covid pandemic, a severe economic meltdown, an energy crisis, and the Beirut explosion in 2020, Espace Fann has continued to provide healing, education, and sanctuary to the community, through the arts.
Meet a Member: Fireside Chat with Dorinda Dutcher & PAZA Bolivia
In 2007, the weavers of the Andean rural community of Huancarani asked Dorinda Dutcher, then a Peace Corps volunteer, for assistance in rescuing natural dye techniques and preserving their textile heritage. So began PAZA, a joint effort of the Bolivian weavers, foreign weavers, WARP members, and many others interested in the preservation of textile traditions.
Continuing Textile Traditions: Churro Week
A conversation with members of the team coordinating Churro Week, an annual event in Northern New Mexico raising awareness about the importance of the Navajo-Churro sheep and its deep local roots.
Meet a Member: Fireside Chat with Rikki Quintana
Rikki Quintana, founder of HoonArts Fair Trade, is passionate about using her long-term partnerships with internationally acclaimed master artists to help art and travel lovers who are drawn to remote, unknown worlds experience the authentic and colorful world of the Silk Road.
Meet a Member: Fireside Chat with Mari Gray
Since 2013, Mari has been the primary designer for her small business Kakaw Designs, which began as a direct online sale website. With now so many branches of the “cacao tree,” she multi-tasks from facilitating and guiding textile travel itineraries in Guatemala to organizing custom production for other businesses.
Los Desconocidos: The Migrant Quilt Project
For centuries, quilting has been used as a way to bring attention to social issues of great significance, such as women’s suffrage. “Los Desconocidos: The Migrant Quilt Project” exhibition, currently on display at the Arizona History Museum, features a collection of handmade quilts that memorialize migrants who have died seeking refuge in the United States. Each quilt carries the names of those who have been identified or simply states “desconocido” or “unknown” for those who have not.
Continuing Textile Traditions: Indigo Around the World
Indigo has been used to dye textiles for thousands of years, spanning cultures and continents. The blue produced by indigo is recognized and beloved worldwide, while the plant processing methods and textile designs produced in various cultures are quite diverse. This panel discussion features contemporary textile artists who work within various indigo traditions.
Meet a Member: Fireside Chat with Cael Chappell
WARP Board Member Cael Chappell’s basket making grows from his love of basketry. Seventeen years before weaving his first basket, Cael founded Baskets of Africa, a fair trade verified company committed to economic empowerment for basket weavers from over 20 countries.