In celebration of the Peace Corp’s 60th Anniversary, and as part of our Continuing Textile Traditions series, Weave a Real Peace’s next Zoom Panel will present three WARP members who served in the Peace Corps in Africa in the 1960s and 70s.
Susan Schaefer Davis is an anthropologist who has been inspired by Moroccan women since her Peace Corps service there in the 1960s. In addition to a lifetime of teaching and development work she has written three books about the women she knows so well and has helped sell their textiles online at www.marrakeshexpress.org. Debbie Durham’s passion for handcrafts developed during Peace Corps service in Senegal in the 1970s, which led to a craft cooperative in Kinshasa, DR Congo, a fair trade business in Durham, NC, a graduate degree in Textiles & Clothing, and organizing one of the earliest WARP Annual Meetings in Berea, Kentucky in 1996. Molly Martin taught elementary school in Monrovia, Liberia from 1968-1970 as a Peace Corps Volunteer, during which time she developed a profound interest in their textiles. That led her to a career that has included teaching and lecturing on African art, especially textiles.
The panel will be moderated by WARP member Judi Jetson, a weaver and a leader in the well-researched promotion of craft, particularly textiles. There will be ample opportunity for questions from those attending this free online event. Please complete the registration form to join us on Saturday September 18th, from 1:00-2:00 pm, US Eastern Daylight Time.
Speakers from left to right: Molly Martin, wearing traditional Liberian dress. Susan Schaefer Davis with Moroccan weaver and friend, Fatima. Debbie Durham at the International Folk Art Market.
