The Lab
February through July 2026
The Textile Society of America (TSA) is relaunching The Lab, as a six-month virtual incubator designed to spark connection, collaboration, and creativity across the textile field.
The Lab is a mentorship-driven program that helps emerging professionals move their ideas into action. Through guided sessions, one-on-one mentorship, and peer exchange, TSA members refine a project or proposal over the course of six months, developing tangible outcomes such as:
- A ready-to-submit abstract or proposal for a conference or publication
- A polished presentation for a public audience or symposium
- Clear next steps in research, outreach, or publication
The program culminates in the Warp Speed Showcase, where mentees present lightning-round versions of their projects to a live audience of peers and professionals. Top-voted presenters will be invited to share their work at the TSA Colloquium, October 8–10, 2026, in Minneapolis, MN.
Sessions will be held virtually via Zoom the second Friday of the month from February through July 2026, with monthly gatherings and community workshops. The Lab gatherings will last 1 hour starting at 9:30am PT/12:30pm ET/5:30pm BT via Zoom.
TSA welcomes applications from across geographies, disciplines, and identities, and especially encourages participation from historically underrepresented communities in textile fields. Application deadline for both mentors and mentees: January 1, 2026.
How It Works
- Apply to join as a mentee or mentor
- Mentees are matched with a mentor based on area of interest, practice, or inquiry
- Mentorship pairs meet virtually for sessions to refine an idea, develop presentation/pitch materials, and discuss strategic next steps
- Mentees will work toward a defined goal: a public presentation and/or written proposal
- Mentees and mentors will join Lab community workshops and peer pitch sessions to gain feedback, test their ideas, and sharpen their delivery
- Upon successful completion of The Lab, mentees encouraged to submit articles to the TSA Newsletter
- Warp Speed Panel participants will be required to write an article reporting on an aspect of the Colloquium for TSA publication in Spring 2027
Who Can Apply
- Open to TSA members who are *early-career professionals, recent graduates, or students looking to grow their textile practice professionally
- Mentors must also be current TSA members and may come from across sectors: academia, industry, curation, design, research, conservation, education, writing, and more
- We encourage applications from across geographies, disciplines, and identities especially those historically underrepresented in textile fields
*TSA members who are currently either students in a textile-related field, have graduated from a textile-related field within the past three years or have been in their first job in the textile field for less than three years.
Apply as a Mentee if you’re an early-career professional, student, or recent graduate eager to refine your textile-focused research, creative project, or proposal.
Apply as a Mentor if you’re an experienced professional—academic, artist, designer, curator, conservator, researcher, or educator—interested in guiding the next generation of textile thinkers.
TSA is hosting a colloquium next fall which will feature the work of new and emerging members. Do you have a studio project or research idea you’d like to present at the colloquium? Come share your work with the Lab!
Not sure how your idea ties into the theme, (re)Generation: Fibers of Resilience & Renewal? Come pitch anyway! Collective textile minds specialize in weaving things together! We’ll find the through line!
Led by: Kira Dominguez Hultgren
We meet on Zoom and Discord.
Have questions before you apply? Click here to schedule an office hours chat with us!
If you are not a member but would like to become one, please click this link to become a member.
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