CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

Traje de la Vida: Maya Textiles of Guatemala
From September 25, 2008

Traje de la Vida: Maya Textiles of Guatemala is a new exhibition by the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley that explores weaving and artistry in Guatemala. Opening to the public on September 25, 2008, the spectacular works in this exhibit offer visitors a unique look into Maya culture through textiles collected over a hundred year period. Film footage by videographer Kathleen Mossman Vitale of Endangered Threads Documentaries is featured in the exhibition as well as photography by renowned documentarian, Jeffery Foxx.  

Curated by Margot Blum Schevill, Traje de la Vida explores the story of the Maya from the highlands of Guatemala.   Through their weaving, they tell a narrative of culture, personal identity and of social and political transformation, with themes illustrating the resilience of the Maya people and the ability to tell their stories.

The textiles on exhibition in Traje de la Vida draw from the Hearst Museum’s extensive Guatemalan textile collection. The collection’s early history is integrally tied to the founding of the Hearst Museum as most of the textiles were collected on an expedition funded by Phoebe Hearst in 1902.  Displayed pieces include dance and hand woven ceremonial costumes, traditional head cloths and a quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. 

Through this exhibition, we hope to offer visitors a unique look into Maya culture, both traditional and contemporary.  Rich colors and textures fill the galleries as visitors are treated to a visual cornucopia. Engaging hands-on activities for all ages and are interspersed throughout the exhibition. Learn to weave on a loom, or try on a colorful huipil and pantalones.

The Hearst will host a year of Guatemalan educational programs including weaving demonstrations, family days, film nights, and dynamic lectures, and kick off with our exhibition opening event, scheduled for the evening of September 25, 2008. 

From the Maker’s Hand:Selections from the Permanent Collection
Ongoing Exhibition

The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology offers its latest interpretation of human ingenuity with this exhibit. Visitors will see the living and historical cultures of China and Africa in one section. The ancient civilizations of Egypt, Peru, North America, and the Mediterranean are represented through many fine archaeological examples in another section. While the artifacts are diverse in origin, taken as a whole they underscore the history of human innovation.

Native Californian Cultures Gallery
Ongoing Exhibition

Over thousands of years, the Native peoples of the present state of California developed many complex cultures, with differing customs related to varied environments and histories. Native Californian Cultures is dedicated exclusively to displays drawn from the Museum's permanent collections from California, the world's largest and most comprehensive devoted to this region. In a "visible storage" style of display, about 500 objects illustrate the great diversity of the Californian peoples who live within the boundaries of the present state. By grouping objects according to common usage or object type, the similarities and differences among California peoples are made readily apparent.