The Pioneering Women of Textile Design at UQAM’s Exhibition

Header: Cécile Feilchenfeldt, Cape de Moa (2022). Photo credit: Aurélie Cenno

The creation of soft materials will be in the spotlight at UQAM’s Centre de Design in Montreal, Canada, with the Textile Design Now exhibition. Additionally, a symposium entitled Textiles Beyond Crafts will take place on November 30^th and December 1^st, 2023, and will include lectures, workshops, and round tables.

“The exhibition will be an opportunity to discover the remarkable work of women designers over the past century, but more specifically, the exceptional contribution of today’s women designers in the field of textile production.”

Louise Pelletier

Curators

• Louise Pelletier, Professor at École de Design, UQAM.
• Fabienne Münch, Professor and Chair of the Department of Design, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
• Katharina Sand, Visiting Professor at the Akademie Mode & Design (AMD), Munich, Germany.

Guest curator (history component) 

Christina Contandriopoulos, professor at the Département d’Histoire de l’Art, UQAM, in collaboration with Theo Tyson, Curator of Fashion Arts at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and Rebecca Leclerc, doctoral student in Études et Pratiques des Arts, UQAM.

“Soft materials are part of everyday life in cultures and societies across the globe. They are an inexhaustible source of inspiration and innovation. We are delighted to present this exhibition which celebrates women artists and designers who are passionate about materials. It has been a great intellectual and emotional pleasure to put together this exhibition with Louise Pelletier, Katharina Sand, Christina Contandriopoulos, and the team at the UQAM Design Centre.”

Fabienne Münch

Exhibition

Textile Design Now showcases 23 works by women textile artists and designers from fourteen countries: Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Senegal, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States. This unique gathering will provide an opportunity to discover several previously unseen pieces.

At the cutting edge of textile design, these creators engage in varied and unexpected practices including weaving, 3D printing, sound-generating and solar textiles, bacterial dyeing, as well as the creation of replacement organs woven by silkworms.

The spatial arrangement of the textile works within the exhibition highlights the intertwining of tradition and innovation, experimental practices, and the emotional potential of soft materials. A historical section and a selection of books offer insights into the rich origins of textile practices and the complexity of their cultural and societal roles.

“Textile practices fascinate me. They embody craftsmanship and ingenuity. Their socio-cultural, economic, and political impact is profound, while their aesthetics and tactility shape our everyday experience of the world. I’m delighted that so many artists and designers can join us for the opening of the exhibition, as well as for the symposium, Textile Beyond Craft, to weave a dynamic textile network.”

Katharina Sand

Source: v2com newswire