Weaver Edwin Sulca concludes his visit as Artist-in-Residence
at Thompson Memorial Chapel, Williams College
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - 5:00 p.m.
For the past several weeks Edwin Sulca, of Ayacucho, Peru, has been weaving on his traditional loom, set up at the heart of the sanctuary of Thompson Memorial Chapel on the WilliamsCollege campus. Each day has brought the tapestry he is weaving as a centennial commission for the Chapel a few rows closer to completion. Through the weeks, hundreds of visitors - curious elementary school students, high school and college Spanish classes, weavers and local artists, and countless others - have visited the Chapel to look over his shoulder at the design emerging beneath his deft fingers, to hear him tell the poetic stories that accompany each of his other works on display, and to try to find words in Spanish or any other language to say what the experience of his work has meant to them.
On Tuesday May 10, at 5:00 in the afternoon, the community will finally have a chance to see the finished work, to join in a ritual of dedication during which it will be installed in the Chapel, and to offer blessings and good wishes as Mr.Sulca prepares to return to Peru. The Rev. RickSpalding, Williams Chaplain, will preside, and students and others who have been engaged in the project will take part. All are cordially invited - and a reception in honor of Mr.Sulca will immediately follow the ceremony.
Mr.Sulca's visit has been part of a year-long series of events called Re-imagining Sacred Space which mark the 100 th anniversary of Thompson Memorial Chapel. The Chapel was dedicated in June of 1905 as a house of Christian worship; half a century of Williams graduates remember it as the locus for required attendance at religious services. Still a sanctuary and a place of prayer on a busy campus, in recent years the Chapel has become a focal point of reflection and dialogue about the possibilities for inter-religious collaboration on a secular campus in pluralistic times. Each year several multi-faith services of worship are held, weaving strands of prayer and song, poetry and sacred text into an experimental fabric of unity-in-diversity - on Earth Day, Martin Luther King Day, College visiting weekends and other pivotal moments.
The tapestry which Mr.Sulca has been creating since his arrival on April 12 will acknowledge the many-faceted spiritual life of the College, in the unique combination of traditional Andean motifs and his own particular vision that is so evident in his other works on display. Many of Sulca's designs incorporate indigenous iconography beside contemporary symbols - using only Andean wool hand-colored with local natural dyes - to speak of struggle and hope, and to open a window onto "a Better World," as one tapestry has it. The vision of peaceful coexistence seems a fitting preamble to the second century of the building that has come to be, not only a familiar landmark, but a home for the prayers of a college community where so many of the world's spiritual languages are spoken.
Through Saturday May 7 Mr.Sulca will continue to weave daily in the Chapel; hours are posted on the Williams Chaplains' Office web page (www.williams.edu/chaplain/) and in various campus communications, and visitors are welcome to come to the Chapel at any time.
At 4 pm Mr. Sulca will give a talk about his work, including the stories of several of the tapestries on display
and a slide presentation about the traditional process of preparing wool and the natural Andean dyes he uses in his
work. (with a break for lunch between 12:30 and 2 pm) (depending on how the final phase of preparation of the commissioned tapestryis proceding) Mr. Sulca's residency will close with a festive ceremony including the dedication of the commissioned tapestry and a blessing upon him as he returns to Peru. Reception following. All events will be held in Thompson Memorial Chapel. School groups note: it is still possible to arrange to visit the exhibition during the week of May 2-6. It may be possible for us to arrange for a translator to be present for your visit. Please call the Chaplains' Office (413-597-2483) to let us know when you'd like to come.
SCHEDULE for the concluding days of Mr. Sulca's residency (MAY 1 - 10):
Sunday, May 1 - weaving 11 am - 3 pm
Monday - Friday, May 2 - 6 - weaving 9 am - 6 pm
Saturday - May 7 - weaving 11 am - 3 pm
Sunday & Monday - May 8 & 9 - hours TBA
Tuesday - May 10 - 5:00 pm