A Hands-On Indigo Dyeing Workshop

Explore the history, folklore, technique and contemporary practice of indigo dye and batik among ethnic minority women in Southwest China.
About this Event

* Note: Event will take place outside in hot weather and will last 2.5 hours*

In this free, two and half-hour workshop at the UNM Maxwell Museum Courtyard, under shade structures, invited artist Liu Xiang will lead a hands-on indigo dyeing workshop facilitated by Sarah Horowitz, who will be interpreting.

The event will explore the history, folklore, technique and contemporary practice of indigo dye and batik among ethnic minority women in Southwest China. Participants will get to try their hand at this ancient craft, and take home a small piece of their making.
Liu Xiang and Sarah Horowitz are the co-founders of and co-steward Bridge Indigo, a social enterprise dedicated to sharing China’s batik textile traditions with the world through product sales, custom textile tours and batik workshops. The enterprise supports a collective of 20 village-based women dedicated to sustaining the craft passed down from mother to daughter for generations. Each artisan shares a deep love for this artform, learned from their ancestors, and is determined to carry it forward despite economic and social challenges.

Liu Xiang is a designer, batik artist and peace-maker from Guizhou Province, China. For over a decade, she has been working in non-profit and social enterprise sectors to support women artisans in rural Guizhou earn a dignified living from their craft, while also studying and helping preserve the ancient batik traditions of the Miao, Gejia and Bouyi ethnic minority groups.

Sarah Horowitz is an educator, social enterprise manager, and community food systems worker based in Albuquerque. Apart from co-founding Bridge Indigo, Horowitz is the Sales & Special Projects Manager at the Three Sisters Kitchen, a non-profit community food space in the heart of downtown Albuquerque. She spent the last decade working with farmers in China and New Mexico on projects related to entrepreneurship, cultural heritage protection, and food.

If you have questions or want to join the waitlist please email the museum's curator of public programs, Julián Antonio Estrada: [email protected]