Global Studies Events
A Conversation with Kaqchikel Artist María Elena Curruchiche
Brown Bag Lecture
Maya Indigenous Painting and Weaving: A Conversation with Kaqchikel Artist María Elena Curruchiche
In the late 1980s, Salvador Cúmez decided to form a woman’s painting collective from interested Kaqchikel women. He taught them how to draw, mix paints and stretch canvas. Drawing on his association with Mexican Surrealist painters, he encouraged them to draw their themes from their dreams. Linda Asturias de Barrios, a Guatemalan anthropologist, took interest in this group of women artists and wrote about them. She helped organize yearly exhibitions of their work. In 1997, Grupo Maya Kusamej Junan arranged an exhibition of their work at Somart Gallery in San Francisco, California. Paula Nicho Cúmez and María Elena Curruchiche represented the collective at the opening. Returning home to Guatemala, the town of San Juan Comalapa sent a bus to meet the two artists at the airport, and staged a triumphant return to the town.
Sponsored by: Anthropology
Contact
Richard Williams, rawilliams01@wm.edu