Three panel huipil; elaborate embroidery encircles the neck; white ground cloth with patterning primarily in green with accents in purple, blue, orange and red; design consists of rows of stylized bird and tree pattern alternating with rows of diamonds — Ixil Maya artist, Guatemala. Woman's blouse (Huipil). Cotton; discontinuous supplementary patterning, embroidery. Gift of Richard L. Simmons in memory of Roberta Grodberg Simmons. 92.155.11

Curator Talk: Weaving Identities: Maya Huipiles from Guatemala

Join us for a conversation about Guatemala’s rich indigenous Maya culture. We’ll explore traje, the elaborate traditional dress of the Maya, which remains the primary visual expression of Maya identity today and plays a crucial role in the long-standing patterns of community life. Whether worn for religious ceremonies, showcased as an emblem of ethnic pride, or sold in tourist markets, traje maintains a vital link with the ancestral past. It’s also a symbol of change and medium for innovation and self-expression within Maya communities, as we’ll see in examples from the Textile Museum of Canada.

Tickets available March 19, 2026.

Roxane Shaughnessy is the Senior Curator and Collection Manager at the Textile Museum of Canada, overseeing a collection of more than 15,000 textiles and promoting access and engagement through digital and community displays. She has more than 20 years of curatorial experience. Shaughnessy’s notable exhibitions include “Printed Textiles from Kinngait Studios” (2019), awarded the 2021 Governor General’s History Award, and “Ancestry and Artistry: Maya Textiles from Guatemala” (2013). She holds an MA in anthropology and has worked at the Royal Ontario Museum. Shaughnessy also served as president of the Textile Society of America.

_{Ixil Maya artist, Guatemala. Woman's blouse (Huipil). Cotton; discontinuous supplementary patterning, embroidery. Gift of Richard L. Simmons in memory of Roberta Grodberg Simmons. 92.155.11}