Exhibitions
Diversity and Memory: Africa at the Textile Art Biennial of the La Moneda Cultural Center
The La Moneda Cultural Center, in collaboration with the Textile Art Biennial Foundation (BAT), is presenting the exhibition "Abolir el desierto. 2nd Textile Art Biennial ," curated by the renowned artist Matías Allende. The exhibition offers an insight into the vast and diverse African territory, highlighting its peoples, languages, and traditions, and challenging the historical perspective that has placed it as a distant place, despite its geographical and cultural proximity.
The exhibition brings together 25 pieces of textile art from the Textiles of the World Collection, donated in 2018 to the University of Talca by collectors Edward Shaw and Bernardita Zegers. These are mostly anonymous works created by hand for utilitarian purposes, reflecting the expertise of communities in Ghana, Congo, Mali, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, and the Ivory Coast. In this way, the Biennial offers a window into African textile art, where materials and techniques engage in dialogue with the cultural memory and ways of life of a diverse continent.
Abolishing the Desert highlights the textiles on display not only for their aesthetic richness but also for their capacity to generate critical thinking, positioning them as works worthy of reflection and dialogue. By highlighting their anonymous creators and the textiles they produced, the exhibition redefines them as symbols of transformation and emancipation. From this perspective, the exhibition approaches the African landscape with sensitivity and openness, projecting new perspectives toward the future.
The exhibition not only challenges stereotypes that portray Africa as a distant continent, but also traces geographical and historical connections that invite us to recognize the richness of a cultural diversity that is often hidden. In this vein, the proposal is part of the BAT Foundation's mission to promote and legitimize contemporary textile art, while opening a space for dialogue and reflection. In this way, the La Moneda Cultural Center consolidates its position as a platform where creation and critical thinking converge, fostering an exchange of views between artists, curators, and audiences.
