Panama, 2015
Tales & Traditions · Panama
Panama, 2015
A family trip to the Darién with 6-year-old twins, and the pieces that came home in the months after.
An early sourcing trip to Panama, with the whole family.
In 2015, we returned from one of our earliest trips to Panama. An experience that still feels alive in the work today. For the first time, we brought the whole family, 6-year-old twins included.
It was a grand adventure: meeting with basket and mask weavers, watching new pieces take shape, and sharing family to family across cultures. One of the highlights? Our twins racing off with the weavers' children. Play and laughter cross every language.
The twins, eight years ago.
"Play and laughter cross every language."
— Jen, RFB Woven ArtThat journey set the stage for many of the woven works that entered the collection in the months that followed. Looking back now, those "new pieces under construction" are part of the collection today, each one carrying a piece of that trip with it.
— Jen
Frequently asked questions about sourcing in Panama
How does RFB Woven Art source baskets from Panama?
RFB Woven Art sources Wounaan and Emberá pieces directly from artisans in Panama's Darién rainforest. Curator Jennifer Kuyper travels personally to the communities, meets weavers and mask makers in their homes, and selects pieces directly. Some pieces are commissioned and supported with deposits while they take months or years to complete.
What happens during a Wounaan sourcing trip?
Sourcing trips involve traveling from Panama City into the Darién, visiting weaving communities, meeting weavers and their families, watching baskets in progress, and selecting finished pieces. The relationship is built over years of returning to the same communities.
