Join us at Artrage on Th3 Thursday as we welcome photographer Mary Lawyer O’Connor whose exhibit brings images and textiles of Guatemalan weavers together in a vibrant and colorful show.

Mary travels to Guatemala to photograph and learn about the vibrant and resilient cultures of the indigenous Maya people, focusing on women weavers who are the Daughters of IxChel. Their imagery, use of visual space, garment design, looms and weaving techniques can be traced to prehistoric Maya, which years of persecution have been unable to destroy.

Through her photography, Mary illustrates Guatemalan womens’ dedication to their art, tremendous skill, and stunning and intricately made textiles. She brings awareness and understanding of vibrant Maya cultures and draws attention to challenges facing Maya women today.  Their dignity, poise and self-assurance is remarkable, given the trauma of genocide that they have lived through from the sixties through the nineties.

Mary brings her life-long passion for peace and social justice to her art and her position as Head of the Montessori School of Syracuse where “Establishing peace is the work of education,” (founder Dr. Maria Montessori.)

The sale of images in the exhibition will benefit Hospitalito Atitlan in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala and Friendship Bridge, a micro-credit loan non-profit.  The Silent Auction sale of textiles benefits Artrage gallery.