GRACIA: A House of Creation in Antigua Guatemala
Merlín, age 1 year and 9 months, in her mother's textile shop in Antigua Guatemala.
For one week in May 2024, I stayed at GRACIA, an artist residency in Antigua Guatemala with a Central American diaspora program. This open-ended time was spent thinking, dreaming, and creating while getting in touch with my Central American roots. Here are some of the things I made and experienced as part of my research and process:
I had such a beautiful, affirming, and humbling experience in a private weaving workshop with a Mayan artisan named Estela at the Museo Casa del Tejido. Over the course of 3 hours, I made progress on a small weaving. Then during my 45 minute tour of the museum, Estela took over the piece and completed the other half! That’s how skilled and talented she is. The setting and company was lovely. And very sweetly, the museum guide said he looked me up and asked for my autograph to hang up in the museum. Of course I obliged! I highly recommend this experience to anyone who’s curious about Mayan artisans and wants a culturally sensitive environment. What a joy and memory of a lifetime.
I made an appointment in the archives of Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica (CIRMA) for research on Central American civil war photography related to my film Adriana, My First Salvi Friend.
