A provocative, timely exhibit awaits visitors at City College of San Francisco’s Ocean Campus. Why the Immigrants Come: Contemporary Maya Paintings and Textiles from Guatemala reveals the struggles of indigenous people expressed through richly hued paintings from their own cultural tradition.
Works by world-renowned artists Paula Nicho Cúmez, Pedro Rafaél González Chavajay, and others portray the intractable social problems that drive waves of refugees across the border to Mexico and the United States: political, criminal, and domestic violence; rape, femicide, displacement by multinational corporations; and the aftermath of natural disasters.
Open now through December 13, the exhibition can be viewed in the second-floor gallery of Rosenberg Library at City College of San Francisco’s Ocean Campus. The community is invited to an Opening Reception on Wednesday, September 18, from 4:00-8:00 pm. Kaqchikel Maya artist Paula Nicho Cúmez will join as a featured guest, and the eminent Yucatec Maya poet Pedro Uc Be and local Maya poets will lead a poetry reading beginning at 6:00pm.
Maya textiles reveal exquisite traditions of weaving, embroidery, and jaspe (a dyeing tradition similar to ikat and tie-dye). Viewers will learn about weaving practices and the symbolism inherent in the patterns, as well as the ways in which color and design identify the town or region of the wearer.
The exhibition is organized by CCSF Library Exhibitions in partnership with a variety of community sponsors, including Associación Mayab, CCSF Friends of the Library, Latin American Teachers Association, Latino Educators Association, Mayan Cultural Exchange, Mission Promise Neighborhood, Network in Solidarity with the Page 2 of 2 People of Guatemala (NISGUA), and People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights (PODER).
Learn More: Additional information about the exhibit and other upcoming events can be found at https://ccsfexhibits.org/maya/ and https://www.MayaWomenInArt.org/coming-soon.