Protest arpilleras were created by women in Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973 - 1990). They were sewn from scraps of fabric in secrecy and smuggled out of the country as testaments to the atrocities that were being committed against those who opposed the regime. Artists, intellectuals, political dissidents, fathers, mothers, children — disappeared, tortured, hidden. The creative power of arpilleras has resonated deeply with me since I lived in Chile in 2006. They are a metaphor for hope and the power of creativity that bears witness to injustice without submitting to it.

My mother was a textile artist, and I grew up surrounded by fabric and thread. Color, texture, beauty. Creativity a refuge for me from a world too harsh for someone so young. This site represents my intellectual, professional, and creative lives. It is a unique quilt that I have stitched together over years and also a pattern that I am drawing for the future.

Thank you for visiting and sharing a piece of my heart. May you leave renewed and energized.

- Amanda

Foto: UNESCO/Victoria UrangaTesoro Humano Vivo de Chile 2012 (CNCA-UNESCO)

El Colectivo de Arpilleristas de Lo Hermida fue creado en 1975 como una agrupación de mujeres que dieron expresión a hechos y escenas de la cultura popular chilena durante la dictadura militar. Sus arpilleras y tapices se convirtieron en manifiesto de lo que vivían, creando imágenes que fueron reflejo de sentimientos y pensamientos. Pese a la censura, tuvieron un rol activo relatando el dolor de familiares de quienes sufrieron atropellos a los derechos humanos. Su experiencia y testimonio se reflejó en la reconocida obra nacional “Tres Marías y una Rosa”, inspirada en la historia de las arpilleras.