SAN BERNARDINO>> The Museum of Anthropology at Cal State San Bernardino is now showing “Crafting Lives in the Americas,” an exhibition that explores the making and meaning of gendered “domestic crafts” in the Southwestern United States and Mexico.
“Archaeological and historical research suggests that Native American women have had important community roles,” the museum’s web page for the exhibit says.
“Whether or not they are associated with homes, the influences of ‘domestic’ crafts such as pottery, cooking, making figurines, and weaving have long influenced the public sphere. While the evidence tells us that such crafting often is the work of women, it is our interpretations of the meanings of such labor that need to change."
“In this exhibition, we explore material products of women’s crafting from the American Southwest and Mesoamerica.”
“Crafting Lives in the Americas” was curated by Guy David Hepp (lead curator), Ana Yesenia Mendoza Sanchez, Russell Barber and Frannie Berdan, with curatorial assistance from students in the Anthropology 321 and 602 (winter 2017 quarter) classes.
The exhibit, which opened May 24, will remain on display through Dec. 9, 2017.
The mission of the Anthropology Museum is to serve as a teaching laboratory for Museum Studies Certificate students, who gain hands-on experience in collections management, exhibition planning, curation and museum administration.
The museum additionally provides space for the presentation of exhibitions that illustrate and interrogate the cultural contexts and meanings of community histories, events, identities, and behaviors — locally, across the world, and over time and other anthropological perspectives on topics of interest.
The museum is located on the third floor of the university’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences building, room SB-306. There is no admission fee for the museum; parking at CSUSB is $6.
The museum’s summer hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; regular hours during the rest of the year are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The museum is closed on weekends and all university holidays.