In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month and New York Textile Month, "Textiles, Stories & Cultural Heritage" was brought to life marking the first textile exhibition for the brand Mola Sasa.
The goal was to reveal the story and cultural heritage behind the "mola" artisanal technique of the Guna Dule communities of Colombia and the San Blas Islands in Panamá that inspired the creation of the brand while highlighting the unique partnership they have built in the past 7 years. From the origin of this unique appliqué technique of hand-sewing cut-out layers of fabrics to form an intricate piece of art, to the actual design and production process behind Mola Sasa's folkloric yet modern and playful collections.
«The “Molas” are already very figurative and detailed, and it is apparent that the women who make them create with a lot of emotion, with a story to tell behind each work of art.»
—Elizabeth Kaufman, Mola Sasa Designer
Hosted at the renamed Colombian art gallery Instituto de Visión located in Downtown New York, the center of the curation were the traditional garments and elements of the community that historically carried the first "molas" and are still worn by the women of the community as symbols of protection and representation. Around them, through Mola Sasa's extensive archive of Kuna Textiles, we recreated the unique path/journey the brand did not only with the technique, but with the community highlighting the infinite possibilities that this technique has to offer and the importance of continue building bridges to close the gap between tradition and the present.
