Museum exhibit shows how women use artisan co ops to advance human rights

Empowering Women: Artisan Co-operatives that Transform Communities (Photo: Canadian Museum for Human Rights)

WINNIPEG—Textiles, jewelry and folk art produced by women in co-operatives around the world are featured in a new exhibition at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

“Empowering Women: Artisan Co-operatives that Transform Communities” looks at the power of the female-run groups to advance human rights.

The focus is on women in Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Laos, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa and Swaziland.

Displays include a 360-degree video that highlights indigenous Maya women in Guatemala who use weaving co-ops to improve their lives after years of war. CMHR staff travelled to Guatemala last winter to film the women.

“Women play a crucial role in bringing peace to their communities and their countries,” Deborah Chatsis, Canada’s ambassador to Guatemala, told a media preview Wednesday.

“What is more, economic empowerment of women can help to break the cycle of violence, poverty and exclusion.”

The touring exhibition, organized by the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, N.M., runs from July 23 to Jan. 8, 2017.