Overview

Recognising the dire need for more income-generating opportunities for Maya women in Guatemala, an accomplished American textile artist volunteered to teach one rug-hooking class. What follows is a surprising and heartening story about artistry, creative economies, and how access to opportunity truly does change lives. At the heart of Rug Money is the work of artist Mary Anne Wise and her committed team at Multicolores, the rug-hooking nonprofit they formed in Guatemala. In a moving narrative, Mary Anne describes how she created a curriculum for teaching art and design based on her Maya students' needs and abilities, while honoring their culture, and how they later brought their rugs to the famed International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe to much acclaim and successful sales. Rug Money celebrates the extraordinary achievement of Multicolores in creating community, education, and empowerment. While there was no business plan at the outset, the success of Multicolores serves as a model for how to organise and advance a nonprofit while effecting powerful social change. AUTHORS: Mary Anne Wise is a nationally known rug artist and the Vice President of Multicolores. She is also President and cofounder of Cultural Cloth, which represents artisans from developing countries and highlights the value of indigenous textile traditions. Cheryl Conway-Daly spent nearly 20 years as an academic researcher. Her interest in working with grassroots women's empowerment organisations lead her to Guatemala in 2009, where she helped found Multicolores. 200 colour illustrations, 1 map

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9780999051788

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Reviews

This landmark publication is a remarkable testimonial to the power of art to transform lives. The most compelling and unique impact of this project is illuminated through the women's personal narratives, which describe the changes in their self-perception as they became successful artists. --Roxane Shaughnessy, Senior Curator, Textile Museum of Canada Their colourful rugs reflect their culture and experience and are beautiful works of art. Filled with stunning photographs, this book is about people being good to each other, growing and learning, and that is a beautiful thing. --Deanne Fitzpatrick, internationally acclaimed rug-hooking artist and award-winning author Rug Money provides a stellar example of why entrepreneurial opportunities such as Multicolores can transform individual artisans, their families, and entire communities. Read their story and be inspired. --Jeff Snell, Ph.D, CEO, International Folk Art Market Rug Money is a template, a literal how to for social and economic change. And the leading indicator is the education and employment of women. Giving women agency, as Rug Money shows, means great promise for impoverished communities across the globe. --Amy Kaslow, award-winning journalist and photographer covering at-risk communities, worldwide You might start to read this book out of a passion for textiles in general, or rugs in specific, but you'll finish it because it says so much about how to do some good in this world. --Keith Recker, founder Hand/Eye magazine; Creative Director, International Folk Art Market

Their colourful rugs reflect their culture and experience and are beautiful works of art. Filled with stunning photographs, this book is about people being good to each other, growing and learning, and that is a beautiful thing. --Deanne Fitzpatrick, internationally acclaimed rug-hooking artist and award-winning author This landmark publication is a remarkable testimonial to the power of art to transform lives. The most compelling and unique impact of this project is illuminated through the women's personal narratives, which describe the changes in their self-perception as they became successful artists. --Roxane Shaughnessy, Senior Curator, Textile Museum of Canada Rug Money provides a stellar example of why entrepreneurial opportunities such as Multicolores can transform individual artisans, their families, and entire communities. Read their story and be inspired. --Jeff Snell, Ph.D, CEO, International Folk Art Market Rug Money is a template, a literal how to for social and economic change. And the leading indicator is the education and employment of women. Giving women agency, as Rug Money shows, means great promise for impoverished communities across the globe. --Amy Kaslow, award-winning journalist and photographer covering at-risk communities, worldwide You might start to read this book out of a passion for textiles in general, or rugs in specific, but you'll finish it because it says so much about how to do some good in this world. --Keith Recker, founder Hand/Eye magazine; Creative Director, International Folk Art Market

Their colourful rugs reflect their culture and experience and are beautiful works of art. Filled with stunning photographs, this book is about people being good to each other, growing and learning, and that is a beautiful thing. --Deanne Fitzpatrick, internationally acclaimed rug-hooking artist and award-winning author This landmark publication is a remarkable testimonial to the power of art to transform lives. The most compelling and unique impact of this project is illuminated through the women's personal narratives, which describe the changes in their self-perception as they became successful artists. --Roxane Shaughnessy, Senior Curator, Textile Museum of Canada The book's strength lies in its stunning photos and the personal narratives of 10 women who find self-worth, camaraderie and joy in a sisterhood of artisans. --Christine Brunkhorst, book reviewer, Minneapolis Star Tribune Rug Money is a template, a literal how to for social and economic change. And the leading indicator is the education and employment of women. Giving women agency, as Rug Money shows, means great promise for impoverished communities across the globe. --Amy Kaslow, award-winning journalist and photographer covering at-risk communities, worldwide You might start to read this book out of a passion for textiles in general, or rugs in specific, but you'll finish it because it says so much about how to do some good in this world. --Keith Recker, founder Hand/Eye magazine; Creative Director, International Folk Art Market Rug Money provides a stellar example of why entrepreneurial opportunities such as Multicolores can transform individual artisans, their families, and entire communities. Read their story and be inspired. --Jeff Snell, Ph.D, CEO, International Folk Art Market

Author Information

Mary Anne Wise is a nationally recognised weaver, rug hooker, design teacher and curator. During multiple trips to Guatemala, she was moved by the relentless poverty and lack of opportunity for Maya women. In response, Mary Anne volunteered to teach a how-to rug-hooking workshop as a possible new income source for indigenous women. This single workshop eventually led to co-founding Multicolores, a non-profit rug-hooking cooperative in Guatemala. Cheryl Conway-Daly spent nearly twenty years as an academic researcher at universities in Northern Ireland and England, focusing on economic development and gender and equality. Her interest in working with grassroots organisations that focused on women's empowerment prompted her departure from academia, leading her to Guatemala in 2009. Cheryl joined the rug-hooking project in 2013. Her ongoing commitment to helping the rug-hooking artists improve the quality of their lives and her skilled and creative management of the project have been crucial to its success.  

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