Expert to speak June 27 on South Asian textiles

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will host a public lecture, "Ralli: Traditional Quilts of Pakistan and India" by Patricia Stoddard, at 2 p.m. June 27. The lecture is free with museum admission. Stoddard is guest curator of the current exhibition "South Asian Seams: Quilts from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh."

An author and former assistant professor at Brigham Young University, Stoddard has taught, researched and done humanitarian work in Asia, Africa and Central and South America. She lived in Pakistan in the late 1990s. Since that time, she focused her research on the study and documentation of the ralli quilts of Pakistan and India. She is the author of "Ralli Quilts: Traditional Textiles from Pakistan and India" (2003). She has lectured extensively about rallis to many groups both nationally and internationally and has assisted museums with consulting, collections, and exhibitions.

"South Asian Seams" highlights a vibrant textile tradition shown in its rich cultural context: that of the lives of women in diverse regions of the Indian subcontinent. The exhibition runs through Nov. 7 and consists of more than 60 examples of ralli and kantha quilts as well as an assortment of large-scale photographs depicting the women who make these quilts and the people who use them.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum will host a demonstration and trunk show 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 31 by artisans of the Kala Raksha Trust, a women's fair trade cooperative from the Kutch desert region of India. A talk by the founder of the trust, Judy Frater, is at 2 p.m.

Exhibition funding is provided by the Robert and Ardis James Foundation and the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum is at 1523 N. 33rd St. [map]. For additional information visit www.quiltstudy.org or call (402) 472-6549. The museum will be closed July 4.

WRITER: Maureen Ose