October 2, Friday open from 10am – 5pm and again from 8-11pm
Museum admission free all day

South First Fridays

South First Fridays are an eclectic evening of arts and culture in downtown San Jose’s SoFA arts district, centered on South First Street. Held on the first Friday of every month, the arts venues on South First Street are all open from 8 until 11pm and offer free admission and a wide variety of live entertainment. It’s a lively scene attended by arts-lovers of all ages.

October 4, Sunday
2 sessions: 11am – 12:30pm and 2 – 3:30pm

Kids Create

Get ready to explore the many cultures in our community with this popular program. Join us each month as we celebrate a different tradition through story and a hands-on art project. Kids Create is a multicultural arts program for children aged 5-10.
Materials fee: $7.50. Must pay materials fee in advance to confirm reservation. Fee may be paid online or at 408.971.0323 x14. Walk-ins accepted only if there is room at the session.
This month's theme: Making Molas: A paper version of this indigenous Panamanian art form
See the complete Kids Create Calendar

October 17, Saturday, 1 – 4pm

Art of Collecting 2009: Molas
The third annual Art of Collecting symposium this year will feature molas.

Something extraordinary happened this year for the collections of the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. Two amazing collections of molas – those wonderful, colorful, collectible textiles of the Kuna people of Panama – were given to the museum. To celebrate, the Museum staged the exhibition Fabric Tattoos: The Spirit of the Mola, currently on view through October 25.

This special Art of Collecting program highlighting this fascinating art form. We will learn about molas and the people who make them. We will also follow the journeys of the two collectors, Charlotte Patera and Isabella Lively, who together donated over 120 molas and ephemera to the Museum’s permanent collection. Also included in the symposium will be a screening of the award-winning film The Spirit of the Kuna Yala. This film is a lively portrait of a native people determined to survive the encroachment of the Western world. It features the Kuna Indians of Panama's San Blas Islands as they unite to protect their rainforest homeland, Kuna Yala, and the tradition it inspires. Told entirely in the words of the Kunas, the film is a plea to care for the earth from a people who have a deep and intimate relationship with the land. Today, the rapid destruction of tropical rainforests is recognized as acritical global problem. A tragic result of this process has been theextinction of countless indigenous peoples. The Kuna Indians are astriking exception to this scenario. We learn first hand how they reject the lure of westernization and reaffirm their own traditional values.

This half-day forum is only $10 for students; $25 for non-members; $20 for Museum members. Advance ticket purchase is required. Tickets are available online or by phone at 408.971.0323 x14. Space is limited, so reserve early to ensure your place.

The Collectors

Isabella “Miz” Zemer Lively
As a kindergartener Isabella "Miz" Zemer Lively learned to embroider at her mother's side and, on a visit to her grandmother at age 12, became familiar with quilting as she embellished a magical "butterfly" square in a large friendship quilt. In this way, Miz fell in love with textiles. Fortunately for her, she was born in the Panama Canal Zone, a first generation "Zonian" from a family that extended back in Panama two more generations on both sides and who helped build and operate the canal. And, her mother was an accomplished seamstress and pioneer mola collector in the 1930s when the intricate textiles first became available for sale. Through her mother, Miz developed a keen interest in molas and learned how to evaluate them. Although Miz eventually moved to northern California and married, she made numerous trips to Panama from the 1960s to 2006, and spent many happy hours sorting through and buying molas from the Kuna women's "Cooperativa." She had these molas designed into quilts, into wall hangings and especially into striking wearable art, becoming known as "the mola lady of Sonoma." Over the decades, Miz amassed a significant collection of exquisite molas which she donated to the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles in January 2009.

Charlotte Patera
Charlotte Patera is a quilter, teacher and author who was first captivated by the brilliant graphics and techniques of the molas in the 1960s. During her numerous trips to the San Blas Islands, Charlotte developed a profound respect for the Kuna people and an appreciation for the numerous variations in mola styles. She began collecting different types of molas, and became particularly fascinated with adapting molamaking techniques into her own work. "Sewing fabric is my chosen medium" she writes. Her 1995 book, Mola Techniques for Today's Quilters, presents an accessible explanation of the molamaking process and how to incorporate it into the repertoire of the contemporary quilter. The amazing technical proficiency achieved by the Kuna women always intrigued Charlotte, who says, "These people lead a primitive life with little desire for the progress of the outside world, and yet they create techniques that baffle their more sophisticated needle sisters outside of their islands" In an ode to this beautiful art form, Charlotte assembled a collection of over 60 delightful molas during her many trips to Kuna Yala, which she donated to the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles in 2009.