“When Artistic Expression Becomes a Livelihood: The Stories and Handiwork of Indian and Kenyan Women†will be displayed Thursday, Aug. 2 through Sept. 20 in UNC’s FedEx Global Education Center.
Visitors can see embroidered pieces by women in India and hand-dyed and woven wool rugs by women in Nairobi, Kenya. Photos and written stories of the artists and their communities will be posted. Both groups support their families with sales of their works.
Recent UNC graduate Marissa Heyl watched the embroiderers when she visited India last year. In one area, there is no written language, she said, but “embroidery is used to record experience and serves as a form of language. The artisans, in effect, become the historians of their community.â€
The free exhibit will be open from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. The center is at the corner of Pittsboro and McCauley Streets. For more information, call 962-2435.