The Dressed Body & Wearable Innovations
The Textile Society of America (TSA) is pleased to announce Textiles Close Up: The Dressed Body & Wearable Innovations, a new two-day, multi-site public humanities program taking place June 23–24, 2026, in Syracuse and Ithaca, New York.
Developed by the TSA in collaboration with exceptional regional partners, Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center; the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection at Syracuse University; the Thousand Islands Arts Center (Home of the Handweaving Museum); the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection in the Department of Human Centered Design; the Hybrid Body Lab at Cornell University; and the Everson Museum of Art, together we will explore the evolving relationship between body, cloth, and innovation through distinctive collections. It will offer new perspectives on New York’s textile history, from Indigenous traditions to industrial innovations.
Textiles Close Up has been a flagship TSA program since 2013, offering scholars, artists, educators, and the public meaningful opportunities to engage deeply with textile collections through curated study sessions and guided tours. In 2026, the program expands across Central New York, positioning the region as a site of innovation while acknowledging the complex histories of Indigenous, immigrant, and regionally rooted textile traditions.
During the June in-person sessions, small groups of participants will engage directly with collections across multiple partner sites through intimate, hands-on experiences and guided access to both on-view and behind-the-scenes objects. These encounters will support close-looking and site-specific exploration of the dressed body, material innovation, and cultural heritage.
On Tuesday, June 23, participants will engage with collections and site-specific programs at Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center and Syracuse University’s Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection, concluding with a networking reception at the Everson Museum of Art. On Wednesday, June 24, the program continues in Ithaca with close-looking sessions at Cornell University’s Hybrid Body Lab and the The Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection (CF+TC).
We look forward to welcoming you!
Program details
Dates: June 23–24, 2026
Location: Syracuse and Ithaca, New York
Early Bird Registration for TSA Members now open
Registration opens: May 1
Final deadline: June 17
Capacity limited to 50 participants
Registration fee includes: admission, group transportation between sites, curator-led tours and access to collections, and a private end-of-day reception with fellow attendees and program partners.
Not included: costs for meals, lodging, and transportation to the daily starting locations.
Schedule at a glance
Tuesday, June 23
Morning: Skä•noñh Great Law Peace Center
Afternoon: Syracuse University Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection
Late Afternoon: Networking & Gathering at Everson Museum of Art
Wednesday, June 24
Morning: The group will assemble in Syracuse in the morning and then travel to Ithaca together using shared transportation.
Late Morning: Cornell University Hybrid Body Lab
Afternoon: Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection
Program Hosts
Kirsten Schoonmaker is an assistant teaching professor at Syracuse University’s School of Design/CVPA, teaches fashion skills, techniques, and theory. Previously, she was an assistant conservator at the Shelburne Museum, a Kress Fellow with the New York State Bureau of Historic Sites, and worked with conservation departments at the Museum at FIT and Cooper Hewitt. Before that, she worked in costume construction for the Santa Fe Opera and Opera Colorado. Schoonmaker’s expertise lies in making historical garment construction accessible for study and inspiration. She has presented at the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works and the North American Textile Conservation Conference, served as secretary for the Textile Specialty Group of the American Institute for Conservation, and taught a conservation workshop for the Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation.
Emerson Shenandoah is a citizen of the Mohawk Nation, residing at the Onondaga Nation, and a Snipe Clan Member of the Onondaga. He is the Director of The Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center, a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Cultural Center. A graduate of Cornell University’s College of Industrial and Labor Relations, Emerson’s interests lie at the intersection of labor policy and law, particularly their potential to create culturally relevant access for Indigenous peoples. He previously worked as a consultant with Eagle Hill and the United South and Eastern Tribes in Washington, D.C.. During his time at Cornell, Emerson was an invaluable member of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) community, serving as a Residence Assistant in Fall 2018 and a leading member in Native American and Indigenous Students at Cornell (NAISAC) and the American Indian Science and Engineering Association (AISES).
Dr. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao is an Associate Professor in Human Centered Design, with graduate field faculty appointments in Information Science, and Electrical & Computer Engineering at Cornell University. She founded and directs the Hybrid Body Lab. Her research practice themed Hybrid Body Craft blends cultural and social perspectives into the design of on-body interfaces. The goal is to shift towards more inclusive and diverse designs for emerging soft wearable technologies, which often appear in the form of smart tattoos and close-body textiles. Kao also develops novel digital fabrication processes for crafting technology close to the body. Kao was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for her research agenda. Kao and her lab’s research has received several Honorable Mention/Best Paper Awards in top-tier Computer Science conferences (ACM CHI, UIST, ISWC and DIS) while receiving media coverage by Forbes, CNN, TIME, Fast Company, WIRED. Kao has served as the program chair for ACM International Symposium of Wearable Computers (ISWC), the premier conference for wearable computers. Kao and her lab also strive to make an impact in the design and art communities.
Catherine Kueffer Blumenkamp, MPS, is the Associate Director of the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection and Lecturer in the Department of Human Centered Design at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology, is a designer and educator driven by her passion for material culture and the aesthetic, cultural, and collective meanings of design. In her role as a lecturer, she teaches courses on fashion, aesthetics, and society, as well as fashion draping. She also organizes workshops featuring external experts for the Human Centered Design community. As a freelance designer, Catherine creates bespoke garments and provides design consulting and project management services. Her studio work and teaching mutually enrich each other. Whether mentoring students, curating exhibitions, or working on commissions, Catherine excels at bringing people together to maximize their talents and explore the creative process. Having started her teaching career at Sam Houston State University, a top institution for social mobility, she is deeply committed to empowering students and ensuring accessible and inclusive education.
The Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY is a museum of firsts. It was the first museum to dedicate itself to the collection of American art, to create a permanent collection of ceramics as fine art, to collect video art, to develop and implement a docent program, and is the first museum designed by internationally known architect I.M. Pei. The Everson also has a history of supporting emerging and underrepresented artists and artforms, providing many artists with their first solo exhibitions and first museum acquisitions. Fiber-based work has long been a part of the Everson’s exhibition program, and the collection contains several contemporary works by artists working with fiber and textiles, including Lisa Anne Auerbach, Samantha Bittman, Ellen Blalock, Dawn Williams Boyd, Sheile Pepe, and Shinique Smith.
Save the Date
The program will continue with a live virtual roundtable on September 23, bringing together partner representatives for a focused, moderated discussion. The roundtable will be recorded and made publicly accessible. Registration will open in July 2026.
Space for the June sessions is limited, and we encourage early registration. Whether you join us in person, online in September, or both, we hope you will be part of this collaborative exploration of textiles, bodies, and innovation.
Log in to your member profile or create one today!
https://textilesocietyofamerica.org/membership/join
Textiles Close Up is made possible in part by the Coby Foundation.
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