Bertha Estrada Huipe learned to make rebozos at the age of 11. Over her career as a dyer and weaver in Ahuirán, Mexico, she has mastered many kinds of knowledge: environmental, cultural, chemical, historical, and tacit. Over a residency at Columbia University, Bertha and her son Mateo shared their embodied knowledge with undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines in the Making and Knowing Project’s laboratory seminar class. The seminar investigates embodied knowledge, historical techniques, and the intersections between artistic making and scientific knowing.

Students in the seminar have the opportunity to work alongside Bertha and Mateo, learning about the materials for creating natural colors (including marigold flowers, coconut husks, and pomegranate peels), techniques for dyeing and weaving, and the many forms of knowledge embedded in dyeing. During this public showcase, Bertha and Mateo will give an introduction to their work and the Purépecha dyeing and weaving traditions and seminar students will share their textile results and insights from their hands-on experience. Audience members will also have the opportunity to try weaving on a backstrap loom.

Event Speakers:

• Bertha Estrada Huipe, dyer and weaver

• Mateo Rodriguez Estrada, dyer and weaver

Event Information:

Free and open to the public; registration required. Contact scienceandsociety@columbia.edu with questions.

Hosted by the Center for Science and Society at Columbia University.