The vibrant textiles of Silät & Claudia Alarcón embody
the Wichí cosmovision through bold compositions and
radiant chromatic harmonies. Each textile is the
result of an open ended conversation and collaborative
process between a collective of over a hundred women in
northern Argentina, whose intergenerational knowledge
is translated into visual form through weaving. Their
practice not only preserves ancestral traditions
but also pushes formal boundaries and pioneers new
collaborative models that provide sustainable economic
opportunities for the women within the collective,
establishing a sustainable paradigm of collective work
that challenges systems of historical marginalisation,
ensuring that their practice honours and remains true
to their rich culture and values.
Claudia Alarcón is a Wichí weaver and artist, co-founder
and leader of the Silät collective, and a member of Unión
Textiles Semillas. She creates woven and knotted works
depicting images that form part of collective memory
of the wichi people, cosmologies, and the fruit of her
imagination, working with threads she produces from the
chaguar plant.
She studied in her community, worked as an assistant in
workshops from the Native Forests and Community Project
of the Environment and Sustainable Development Ministry
of Argentina, and took part in numerous training programs
organized by INTA. She received support from the Citizen
Culture Fund of the Province of Salta (2020) and a
Creation Grant from Argentinian’ National Fund for the
Arts (2021). ...
