November 2024 / Interweaving the Archive

Interweaving the Archive

An International Exhibition of Contemporary Chilean Textile Art Featuring the Women Weavers of Colectiva Tramando

Curatorial Team: Dr. Belén Gallardo, Daniela Contreras, Genevieve Tremblay

Featured Artists: Daniela Contreras, Belén Gallardo, Mariana Gaete, Alice Jallois, Daniela Rossi & Claudia Moreno with guest creative developer Valentín Jadot 

November 07 - 30, 2024
Opening Reception / Thursday, November 07, 5–8pm

Winter Hours:
Friday–Sunday, 11am–4pm

SOIL Gallery is honored to present Interweaving the Archive, a dynamic exhibition showcasing the political and artistic works of Colectiva Tramando, a collective of Chilean women weavers.

In addition, the exhibition features a striking new piece by Chilean artist Daniela Contreras and Belgian creative developer Valentín Jadot, a bold and innovative work that intertwines historical research, political critique, and contemporary textile art. Drawing on CIA archives, the piece incorporates redacted transcripts from the early seventies during which Henry Kissinger played a significant role in the preparation of a coup d’état in Chile. The artists slice and weave these heavily redacted documents into a compelling historical tapestry, symbolizing the fragmented and concealed truths of that time.

In a groundbreaking intersection of art and technology, the artists have also built a dedicated AI software to interrogate Kissinger's decisions, providing a fresh and critical perspective on the complex US-Chilean political relations during that era. This piece invites viewers to engage with hidden narratives of history and to explore the possibilities of interdisciplinary art and technology.

Voice of the Collective:

"Historically, textile practices carried out by women have been associated with the domestic sphere, often invisible and devalued. Our collective seeks to highlight tapestry as an ancestral practice of the Andean mountains, emphasizing its political role in contemporary art. Through a feminist and collaborative approach, we develop projects that challenge human rights violations in Chile."

Curatorial Insight:

Interweaving the Archive is curated by Belén Gallardo (Chile), Daniela Contreras (Chile), and Soil Member, Genevieve Tremblay (USA). The curators bring an international and feminist perspective to the exhibition, showcasing contemporary textile art that reclaims the role of weaving as a political and collaborative practice. By engaging with complex socio-political histories, the exhibition serves as a platform for collective reflection on memory, resistance, and the ongoing struggles for justice.

The exhibition will include over 50 tapestries created by Colectiva Tramando, which address themes such as human rights violations, feminist resistance, and the legacy of dictatorship in Chile.

Additionally, a site-specific work created by Contreras and Jadot will be unveiled, anchoring the exhibition with a compelling intersection of traditional craft and AI technology. This multidisciplinary piece reimagines redacted CIA transcripts from the Pinochet dictatorship, weaving them into a striking tapestry that symbolizes concealed histories. Paired with an AI built to interrogate these censored documents, the work bridges past and present, exploring hidden narratives and inviting viewers to reconsider the role of both art and technology in shaping historical memory.

In addition to the support from SOIL Gallery, this exhibition has received funding from the Chilean National Fund for the Development of Culture and the Arts (FONDART).

Exhibition Highlights:

● “Track II”, 2024: Collaborative multimedia work by Daniela Contreras and Valentín Jadot featuring redacted CIA transcripts woven into a historical tapestry and a reflective AI interrogation of Kissinger's role in Chile's political landscape.

The exhibition features 54 small tapestries, showcasing two significant collaborative pieces by

Colectiva Tramando. These works include:

● "Women During the Dictatorship”, 2023: A powerful testament to the experiences of Chilean women during the Pinochet dictatorship.

● "Chronicle of the Social Outbreak", 2020: These tapestries reflect on Chile’s complex socio-political history, weaving memory and resistance into powerful visual narratives.

Calendar of Events:

● November 7, 5:00 - 8:00 pm Opening Reception at SOIL Gallery

● November 9, 3:00 pm Guided Tour (in Spanish) at SOIL Gallery

● November 10: 2:00 pm Weaving Workshop at SkyArtworks, Skykomish, WA

● November 12: 3:00 pm Guided Tour (in English) at SOIL Gallery

● November 14: 11:00 am Artist Lecture and Workshop at Evergreen State College

● November 30, 5:00pm Exhibition Closes at SOIL Gallery

In March 2025, the curators will travel to the National Council of Public History’s (NCPH) Annual Meeting (Solidarity | Solidarité) in Montréal, Québec, Canada, where they will present this work of the exhibition in the International Public History Edition of the conference, inviting further discourse on interdisciplinary art, traditional practices, political history, and collective memory.

About Colectiva Tramando website / IG: @colectivatramando

Founded in 2019, Colectiva Tramando (from the Spanish word tramar, meaning “to weave”) is a collective of six Chilean women, supported by over 50 collaborators. They are dedicated to elevating tapestry as a contemporary art form infused with political and feminist significance. Their works are rooted in Andean textile traditions and draw on interdisciplinary research to engage with Chile’s socio political history.

More about the Interweaving the Archive exhibition at SOIL Gallery:

Founded in 2019, Colectiva Tramando (from the Spanish word tramar, meaning “to weave”) is a collective of six Chilean women, supported by over 50 collaborators. They are dedicated to elevating tapestry as a contemporary art form infused with political and feminist significance. Their works are rooted in Andean textile traditions and draw on interdisciplinary research to engage with Chile’s socio political history.

Curatorial Team:

The curators of Interweaving the Archive bring their diverse expertise in textile art, feminist theory, and interdisciplinary research to highlight the political role of tapestry in contemporary art.

● Dr. Belén Gallardo is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher who explores feminist perspectives within traditional and contemporary art forms.

● Daniela Contreras is the founder of Colectiva Tramando and a prominent figure in Chilean textile art, known for her work that confronts historical memory and human rights violations.

● Genevieve Tremblay is a US-based curator and artist specializing in the intersection of art, technology, and cultural memory. She has collaborated extensively on projects that bridge US-Chile artistic exchanges.