AThe Center of Southwest Studies will host a special closing artist talk with Dine weaver and educator Venancio Aragón, who is also the guest curator of "From the Fringes: Dine Textiles that Disrupt," the exhibition currently on view at the Center through November 13th. Join us for an insightful presentation and guided tour of the gallery to learn about Aragón's vision and the innovative techniques shared in the historic and contemporary textiles on display.

This artist talk and the exhibition, From the Fringes: Diné Textiles that Disrupt is supported by a Folk and Traditional Arts Project Grant from Colorado Creative Industries.

Venancio Aragón is an experimental textile weaver whose work combines ancient techniques with vibrant polychromatic designs, that has come to be known as an “Expanded Rainbow Aesthetic.” Aragón learned to weave from his mother, Irveta, at the age of ten and has developed a creative practice focused on reviving rare and lesser-known techniques including twills, two-faced, shaped weavings, tufting, and hybrids.

Fusing his cultural background with the knowledge he gained as he earned degrees in Cultural Anthropology (University of New Mexico) and Native American & Indigenous Studies (Fort Lewis College), Aragón views Navajo weaving as a way to preserve Diné culture and identity by promoting the continuation and practice of his ancestor's legacy. Aragón’s textiles have been featured in major publications and exhibited widely, including at the Heard Museum (Phoenix, AZ), Museum of Fine Arts (St. Petersburg, FL), Tempe Center for the Arts (Tempe, AZ), and The Ah Haa School for the Art’s Daniel Tucker Gallery (Telluride, CO). Aragon is a past Rollin and Mary Ella King Native Artist Fellow with the School of Advanced Research (Santa Fe, NM), and has received numerous accolades for his textiles, including Best of Class-First Place and Judge’s Choice awards from the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts’ Santa Fe Indian Market. In addition to his weaving practice in his home studio in Farmington, NM, Aragón is adjunct faculty of Navajo Cultural Arts at Diné College and currently pursuing a master's in education from Fort Lewis College.