Kislak Talks
Carol Damian and Adriana Herrera: Textiles in the Kislak Collection

The extraordinary textiles of the ancient Andes have long been admired for their beauty, design, technical virtuosity, and ritual meaning. The Jay I. Kislak Collection at Miami Dade College includes several magnificent textiles from the ancient culture areas of Peru and Bolivia, featuring feather work, embroidery, tapestry, and other woven techniques and materials.

Today, not only ancient textiles, but fiber arts of all descriptions have entered the art mainstream in exhibitions, collections, and conversations throughout the world. Join Dr. Carol Damian, curator of the Kislak Center, and art historian Dr. Adriana Herrera for a conversation about ancient textiles and their influence on artists yesterday and today.

Dr. Carol Damian is an art historian, former Professor of Art History in the School of Art and Art History at Florida International University, and former Director and Chief Curator of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at FIU. She has contributed to numerous publications and lectures frequently on Latin American and Caribbean art, and the local art scene. She is currently Curator of the Kislak Center, part of the Miami Dade College Special Collections, housed at the Freedom Tower; and of the Chapel of La Merced Colonial Collection at Corpus Christi in Miami.

A curator and independent art critic with an interest in fiber arts of the Americas, from Argentina to Canada, Dr. Adriana Herrera curated America Weaves at the Coral Gables Museum in 2019 and, as part of Aluna Curatorial Collective, which she co-founded, Women Weavers: The Warp of Memory at Ideobox in Miami in 2018. She is currently working on a book dedicated to textile art in Latin America with an emphasis on the influence of indigenous legacies and the existence of a powerful current of contemporary art created by artists who are of indigenous descent. In 2022, Dr. Herrera curated Baruj Salinas: 1972–2022 for the Cuban Legacy Gallery at MDC, which was presented at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora.

Kislak Center programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. They are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.