Multicolores

Multicolores offers Guatemalan women innovative opportunities to develop their artistic vision and achieve economic empowerment and personal well-being.

Founded in 2014, Multicolores works with Indigenous women artists to create high-quality textile art while strengthening access to national and international markets, preserving cultural heritage, and positioning artists as recognized creators.

Multicolores Guatemala is a social enterprise and nonprofit initiative working alongside 49 Maya women artists across 9 communities in Totonicapán, Sacatepéquez, Quetzaltenango, Quiché, and Sololá. Through rug-hooking, embroidery, and contemporary textile-based artistic practices, Multicolores support cultural preservation, artistic recognition, women’s economic empowerment, and long-term community impact.

The organization combines traditional Maya textile knowledge with artist-centered design approaches and sustainable production practices, using approximately 50% recycled textile materials in its creative processes.

Multicolores artists have exhibited their artwork in museums and galleries across Guatemala, the U.S., Canada, Europe and the U.K., with works held in private and public collections worldwide. They are proud participants in the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, NM. In 2024, for the second year in a row, Multicolores was named International Artist of the Year by the Hooked Rug Museum of North America. Rugs by artists Rosmery Pacheco, Juana Calel, and Bartola Morales Tol are now part of the permanent collection at the new U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City.

Multicolores is currently strengthening its institutional structure while expanding its international positioning, including participation in global platforms such as Milan Design Week and growing partnerships across the cultural, tourism, and design sectors.

Following these recent international opportunities, the organization is entering a new phase of growth focused on strengthening international visibility, strategic partnerships, cultural tourism connections, and long-term sustainable development.