Lecture: Textile Museum Associates of Southern California, Inc. Saturday, April 6, 2019 "The State of Traditional Kilims, Kilim Motifs and Weaving by Hand in Albania" with Alexis Zoto, Practicing Artist and Assistant Professor, University of Southern California Gayle Garner Roski School of Art and Design. Albania, formerly under Communist dictatorship and previously a part of the Ottoman Empire, has a rich history in textiles and weaving by hand. The tradition of kilims was first documented in Rrok Zojzi’s book Qilima Shqiptar, published in 1968. There are inconsistencies and missing information in this book. It is only within the last decade that Albanian scholars have been critiquing and deconstructing how the Communist regime informed what was documented or how an ancient Albanian tradition was perceived. After studying the collection in the Albanian National Archive and going out in to the field, Alexis Zoto will present what she discovered, and what is missing. Alexis Zoto was born in Philadelphia, pa and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. She is a 2017-2018 recipient of the Zumberge Innovation Grant to continue her research on kilims in Albania. Last year the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs named her a ‘Cultural Trailblazer’. Alexis Zoto is a practicing artist and currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California Gayle Garner Roski School of Art and Design. Alexis has exhibited her work widely in Los Angeles, as well as nationally and internationally. Her site-specific installations have been exhibited at a wide range of venues, from the Venice Biennale in Italy to the Tom Bradley International Terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport.  Program: Saturday, April 6, 2019, 10 a.m. - 12 noon, St. Andrew's Lutheran Church. 11555 National Blvd., at Federal, West Los Angeles, ca Free parking in rear. Questions: info@tmasc.org