Bottrop, 5 December 2024 – Our doctoral research fellow, Joanne Rodriguez, was invited to the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat in Bottrop to give a lecture as part of the exhibition Sheila Hicks (2 October 2024 – 23 February 2025). Her talk focused on onto-epistemologies connected to the hands and textiles in the Andean region, exploring critical questions about the role of heritage: Whose perspectives are represented in the exhibition? How much space is afforded to Indigenous knowledge? What curatorial and artistic responsibilities do we hold toward Indigenous knowledge in exhibition contexts?
In her lecture, titled “Interwoven Identities: Textile Art as a Medium for Reflecting on Cultural Identity and Resistance,” she delved into the importance of hands in textile (art) and the embodied knowledge rooted in non-Western epistemologies. Drawing on the works of artists such as Elvira Espejo Ayca and queer Mapuche artist Neyen Pailamilla, Joanne Rodriguez demonstrated how textile art becomes a powerful medium for conveying cultural narratives and acts of resistance.
