Posted September 13, 2016

 

BERKELEY, Calif. – The 2016 Textile Society of America Symposium will take place October 19-23 in Savannah, Ga., on the campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

 

To maximize scholarly interchange, the symposium will consist of multiple, concurrent sessions, plenary and keynote speakers, a poster session and curated exhibitions that will intersect with the scholarly program. In addition to the symposium sessions and exhibitions, there will be a series of dynamic pre- and post-conference workshops and study tours to local and regional art institutions and collections, receptions, special programs and an awards ceremony.

 

Under the theme, “Crosscurrents: Land, Labor, and the Port,” the symposium is organized by SCAD’s Jessica Smith, professor of fibers; Susan Falls, professor of anthropology; and Liz Sargent, professor of fibers.

 

Participants will explore the ways in which textiles shape, and are shaped by historical, geographical, technological and economic aspects of colonization and/or globalization. How and why have textile practices moved around? As they travel, how have they been translated, modified or used within acts of compliance or resistance? What impact have different regimes of labor, consumption, aesthetic valuation or political/social economy had on textile production, use, and circulation?

 

These questions apply to contemporary or historical fine art, utilitarian or ethnographic textiles, and are addressed through scholarship or creative practice.

 

Due to its location and history, the Southern U.S. is an ideal place to examine the interaction between local practices and global markets. Contributions explore textile practice in the broader contexts of agriculture, labor, innovation or exchange. Papers represent a range of historic and contemporary perspectives on the role of technology and alternative economies in shaping design, production, circulation, consumption, exhibition, collection, valuation, interpretation and use of textiles.

 

Presenters come from around the world and represent a range of textile-related disciplines and interdisciplinary areas, including but not limited to history, anthropology, archaeology, art, conservation, geography, design, economics, ethnic studies, history, linguistics, material culture studies, mathematics, science, political science, sociology and theater, among others.

 

For more information, please click here.

 

Source: Textile Society of America