Opening Reception for Writing with Thread Free public opening

Writing with Thread: Traditional Textiles of Southwest Chinese Minorities features over 500 objects from the most inclusive collection of Southwest Chinese ethnic minority costumes in the world. Writing with Thread showcases the finest and rarest costumes from 15 ethnic groups and nearly 100 subgroups, exploring the meanings associated with the production and use of indigenous clothing. In societies without written languages, traditions and customs are orally passed form generation to generation. The textile arts, largely practiced by women, provide tangible evidence of a group's history, myths, and legends. The signs and patterns woven or embroidered in their clothing and the ceremonial and ritual use of textiles are often replicated in the accompanying silver ornaments made by men. This exhibition was curated by Angela Sheng, Assistant Professor of Chinese Art History at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from the collection of the Evergrand Museum, Taoyuan, Taiwan. The exhibition closes in Santa Fe on August 16, 2009.