Gualala Arts Lecture Series presents:
Nilda Callañaupa
National Weaver of Peru

Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
$5 donation requested

On Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m., Gualala Arts Fiber Arts and the Basket Groups will host Nilda Callañaupa, who is a living legend in her native Peru and who was honored with the title "National Weaver of Peru" by the country's president.

After learning about Nilda, local weaver Susan Sandoval aroused the interest of husband John and of Susan Pollard, Susan Grenwelge, and Betsi Carey, all of whom traveled to Peru in May 2007 to see the work of Nilda first hand. She personally took the visitors to seven of the nine native villages that make up a co-op of native weavers. Gualala Arts presented a photo lecture on September 15 about the experience of traveling to Peru.

Now you can spend an evening at Gualala Arts Center with Nilda and one of the women weavers from her co-op as they demonstrate traditional Andean backstrap weaving techniques that hearken back thousands of years. In addition to the presentation, they will bring a selection of textiles for sale.

Nilda grew up in Chinchero, an Inca city in the Urubamba Valley and an important Inca center not far from Machu Picchu, where she tended sheep and first learned the traditional crafts starting at age six. She worked her way through college at Cusco selling textiles and then founded The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC).

CTTC strives to revive and preserve Incan textile traditions and to provide support for weaving communities. Her work has been chronicled in a National Geographic article in 2002. Nilda has given weaving demonstrations at the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History. She is coming to Gualala from a lecture at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco.

The co-op currently is limited to supporting nine weaving villages, although many more are waiting to participate. Each village has its own patterns and special techniques. The center's museum carefully preserves these unique details for future generations.

Further information can be obtained about this amazing woman who can engage with world markets and still remain grounded in her historical roots by visiting the CTTC website - www.incas.org.

A $5 donation is requested.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.