Collaboration

Contemporary Diné (Navajo) baskets are a product of exciting cross-cultural collaborations between weavers, traders, and other artists. Twin Rocks Trading Post in Bluff, Utah, is the epicenter of this exchange of ideas. Steve and Barry Simpson at Twin Rocks encourage Diné weavers to push the boundaries of their art, providing them diverse sources of inspiration and suggesting new approaches. Early in the movement, the Simpsons also hired Damian Jim, a Diné graphic artist, to digitally render weavers’ ideas and provide his own design concepts. Damian and the weavers gathered at his computer excitedly discussing new concepts which took shape on the screen in front of them. This open exchange of ideas across cultures supported an atmosphere in which innovation flourished. Another critical aspect of the collaboration is economic. The Simpsons purchase baskets from the weavers outright rather than selling them on consignment. This economic support allowed the weavers to unleash their creativity, take risks on new designs, and, in the process, create a new art form.