A vital part of Christina Kim’s design practice includes developing relationships with artisans and supporting their living traditions. For this event, Christina will discuss her search for white bags, or mochilas, made by the Arhuacos, an indigenous community in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains.

Her interest in the white bag began in the late 1980s, when she purchased five mochilas with geometric designs from a Colombian craft store in New York City. There, she was told about a treasured white cotton mochila—symbolizing the snow-covered peaks on the coast of Colombia, used only by the mamos or priests. In 2011, Marcella Echavarria, a Colombian journalist, gifted Christina a white woven cotton mochila which deepened her curiosity to learn more.

Christina will talk about how the white cotton bag led her to visit the Arhuacos in 2016, and how she developed a mutually beneficial exchange with the community. She will be joined by her collaborator, Clara Llano, and mochilas will be available for sale.