VENTURA – Porfirio Gutiérrez, Zapotec Artisan

VENTURA – Join E.P. Foster Library for an immersive evening with master dyer and textile artist, Porfirio Gutiérrez, and learn about the rich history of the craft in its cultural context. Recently featured in The New York Times, Gutiérrez is committed to keeping his family’s traditional Zapotec practices and knowledge alive. Gutiérrez and his family are masters of Zapotec weaving and come from a long line of weavers from Teotitlán del Valle in Oaxaca, Mexico. They are among a small group of textile artisans working to preserve the use of plant and insect dyes—techniques that stretch back more than 2,000 years in the indigenous Zapotec tradition. This special presentation will be hosted at E.P. Foster Library on Saturday, January 5, 2018 at 6 pm. This event is free and open to the public. Saturday, January 5, 2019 6:00 pm E. P. Foster Library Topping Room 651 E Main Street Ventura, CA 93001 Ventura County Library is honored to host this event, made possible by funding received from the California Council for the Humanities Library Innovation Lab Grant for the project entitled “Celebrate Mixteco Culture,” and partnerships with MICOP, CSUCI, El Rio NFL, and UCSB. “Library Innovation Lab: Exploring New Ways of Engaging California’s Immigrant Communities” is a new statewide competitive grant program offered by California Humanities. The program encourages California libraries to develop creative and innovative programs that will respond to the needs and circumstances of today’s immigrants and immigrant communities and foster more inclusive communities within our state. For additional information, contact Irma Morales, City Librarian, E.P. Foster Library at (805) 256-4414 or Yvonne Becerra, Library Technician and Grant Coordinator at (805) 701-4315. The Foster Library is located at 651 East Main Street in Ventura, CA. Hours of service are 10 am to 7 pm Monday through Thursday, 10 am to 5 pm Friday and Saturday, and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday.