ANNETTA KORUH
BORDERLANDS REGION, 2022 - 2023
Annetta Koruh (she/her) is a Hopi basket weaver from the village of Bacavi on the Third Mesa. She has been weaving for over 20 years and represents five generations of basket weavers. From her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Koruh learned to harvest and process plants used in the practice, and to design baskets in ways that reveal aspects of the Hopi way of life and the role of women within the culture. Koruh shares the spiritual and healing practice of basket weaving at schools, juvenile centers, jails, and women’s groups, committed to preserving Hopi tradition and creating a safe place for people of all ages to come together.
In partnership with Hopi Tewa Women's Coalition to End Abuse, Annetta began hosting weekly art making workshops to share the spiritual and healing practice of basket weaving and other art forms. Annetta has shared her weaving practice with doctors, patients, and caregivers in hospital settings to offer space to come together. She plans to extend the sessions to work with survivors of abuse in her community with a commitment to preserving Hopi tradition and creating a safe place for people of all ages to come together.
CULTURE HUB
Southwest Folklife Alliance’s mission is to build more equitable and vibrant communities by celebrating the everyday expressions of culture, heritage, and diversity rooted in the greater Southwest and U.S.-Mexico Border Corridor. Nationally, we amplify models and methods of cultural work that center traditional knowledge. We are a non-profit affiliate of the University of Arizona in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the State Folk & Traditional arts partner for the Arizona Commission on the Arts through the National Endowment for the Arts. We do this by 1. Producing festivals and public programs that increase understanding and respect for folklife practices, 2. Providing direct support to heritage-based artists in the region. 3. Documenting folklife and amplifying the voices of artists and cultural workers engaged in folklife practices. Our role is to create, uplift, and maintain the platforms where artists and ethnic/traditional/heritage innovators animate the foundation of community, and their folklife, on their own terms.