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| Fundación Carla Fernández | |
|---|---|
| Name | Fundación Carla Fernández |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Carla Fernández |
| Location | Mexico City, Oaxaca |
| Focus | Textile design, cultural preservation, contemporary fashion |
Fundación Carla Fernández is a Mexico-based nonprofit cultural organization founded to research, preserve, and reinterpret Mexican textile traditions through contemporary design, artisanal collaboration, and exhibitions. The foundation operates at the intersection of indigenous textile heritage, museum scholarship, contemporary fashion, and sustainable production, engaging with communities, academic institutions, galleries, and cultural funders across Mexico and internationally. It is widely cited in discussions linking indigenous craftsmanship, museum practices, contemporary design, and cultural policy.
The foundation was established by the designer Carla Fernández after collaborations with Zapotec and Mixtec artisans in Oaxaca and interactions with institutions such as the Museo Nacional de Antropología and the Museo de Arte Popular. Early projects connected with communities in Oaxaca de Juárez, Tehuantepec, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, drawing attention from curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Grants and residencies from entities like the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and the British Council supported documentation efforts alongside fieldwork inspired by methodologies from the Smithsonian Institution and the Getty Research Institute. The organization's trajectory includes exhibitions at venues such as the Museo de Antropología de Xalapa, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, and collaborations with contemporary designers associated with the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Design Museum, London.
The foundation's mission emphasizes safeguarding textile techniques tied to communities such as the Mazatec, Mixtec, Zapotec, Triqui, and Maya. Programming includes documentation projects, design residencies, and capacity-building initiatives that coordinate with agencies like the Secretaría de Cultura and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Activities range from artisan-led workshops with organizations like Centro de las Artes de San Agustín and the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco to curatorial collaborations with the Tate Modern and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The foundation also runs market-oriented initiatives drawing on models from the International Trade Centre and the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage frameworks.
Curated collections foreground garments, brocades, and loom-woven pieces from regions including Chiapas, Yucatán, Guerrero, and Puebla. Exhibitions have been mounted in partnership with institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the National Gallery of Victoria, and featured in festivals like the Biennale of Architecture and the Venice Biennale collateral events. The foundation's catalogues and exhibition texts reference collections held at the Textile Museum (Washington, D.C.), the Museum of International Folk Art, and the British Museum, and engage with research programs at universities such as Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Cambridge.
Design approaches combine patterning and geometry observed in community garments with contemporary construction methods associated with ateliers in Mexico City, Berlin, and New York City. Production practices prioritize artisanal techniques including backstrap loom weaving, ikat, brocade, and natural dyeing traditions documented alongside processes at institutes like the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for dye plant research and the Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales for fiber studies. The foundation emphasizes long-term fair trade frameworks similar to those promoted by Fair Trade International and collaborates with cooperatives modeled on structures used by Agroarte and SEWA.
Research initiatives integrate ethnographic fieldwork, archival study, and design experimentation, engaging scholars from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and the Pratt Institute. Educational programming includes fellowships, workshops, and seminars aimed at students from institutions such as the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and participants in programs run by the Getty Conservation Institute and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. Oral history projects and technical reports align with methodologies used by the Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Sociale and the Centro INAH Oaxaca.
The foundation partners with cultural organizations, museums, universities, and artisan collectives including the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca, Centro de las Artes Oaxaca, and international partners such as the Royal College of Art, the Cooperazione Internazionale, and the European Cultural Foundation. Partnerships extend to funding and development bodies like the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and involve alliances with galleries such as Galería OMR and curators associated with the Frieze Art Fair and the Documenta network.
The foundation and Carla Fernández have received attention from design critics and institutions including Vogue, The New York Times, The Guardian, and the Washington Post, and accolades from cultural awards linked to the Prince Claus Fund and the Principles for Responsible Investment in cultural heritage. Its model has influenced policy discussions at forums such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and programming at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, while academic citations appear in journals published by Duke University Press, Routledge, and Bloomsbury Academic. The foundation's work continues to shape conversations among curators, designers, and indigenous organizations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Category:Non-profit organizations based in Mexico Category:Textile museums Category:Mexican design institutions