Traditional Weaving Workshops Explore Karen Refugee Culture and Artisans

Presented by the Karen Organization of San Diego (KOSD) on July 13, Karen elders led a weaving workshop making traditional clothing at the refugee community center.

A nonprofit community organization, KOSD is committed to community building and educational opportunities for refugees displaced from Myanmar, previously Burma, who now reside in San Diego.

Nya Paw is a Karen elder that has been weaving her whole life. With support from a Karen youth that helps translate between the Karen language and English, Paw says she never had the opportunity to obtain a formal education.

"We just have the skills to weave and to make clothes," Paw said. "We want our children and grandchildren to maintain the culture and pass it down to the next generation."

The workshop is part of Creative City Heights, a series of events to share cultural expression in the multicultural neighborhood of City Heights, hosted by Mingei Museum.

An exhibition of the project is scheduled for fall.

Disclosure: Media Arts Center San Diego is partner of the Creative City Heights project.

To learn more about Karen Organization of San Diego
http://karensandiego.org

Read more at Speak City Heights
http://www.speakcityheights.org

Produced by Mika Kanke & Brian Myers, Media Arts Center San Diego
http://www.mediaartscenter.org

Speak City Heights is a media collaborative with partners KPBS, voiceofsandiego.org, The AjA Project and Media Arts Center San Diego with funding from the California Endowment, aimed at amplifying the voices of residents in one of San Diego’s most diverse neighborhoods.