In a world fueled by fast food, instant messaging, and immediate gratification, Charllotte Kwon suggests an entirely different way of starting your day — by pulling on ‘slow clothes’.
Kwon, who received an honorary degree from the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in June, returns to present a lecture titled Waiting for the Monsoon: Slow Clothes in India. Her appearance kicks off the UFV President’s lecture series for 2014/15.
Kwon’s lecture begins in UFV’s Abbotsford Lecture Theatre (B101) at 4 p.m. on Oct. 6. Through video and images she will lead a tour of slow clothes in India designed to make the audience rethink everything that goes into a garment.
“Slow clothes are made with an eye to the human impact of clothing production rather than the need accelerate production to meet a fashion trend.”
UFV President Mark Evered established this lecture series to bring informed and inspirational speakers to UFV and the community.
As an artist, documentary filmmaker, educator, businesswoman, and humanitarian, Kwon works as an advocate for the preservation of tradition and craft and the betterment of society.
Her efforts and dedication to the preservation of the traditional extended to the boundaries of human experience when Maiwa Foundation (started in 1997) helped raise $35,000 for shelter, food, and medical supplies after an earthquake rocked India’s Kutch region in 2001.
Her Maiwa retail store on Granville Island that sells artisanal clothing, bedding, jewelry, and art also includes warehouse and workshop areas that employ about 30 people.
The non-profit Maiwa Foundation — connected to but separate from Kwon’s for-profit business — raises money for small grants and larger projects that don’t fit within traditional non-governmental organization requests. Small grants are from $500 to $1,500, helping craftspeople do everything from buy a bike to build a well.
For more, visit http://events.ufv.ca/events/presidents-lecture-series-charllotte-kwon/.