Registration Details
Registration Opens: September 1st
Early Bird Member Ends: September 10th
Registration Closes: October 17th
Program Description
Join the Textile Society of America this fall for an in-depth two-day exploration of grief, care, and cultural resilience through textiles. This special edition of Textiles Close Up invites participants to experience the landmark exhibition On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Mourning and Survival at the Art Institute of Chicago, alongside live performance, artist dialogue, and curator-led sessions.
This immersive two-day experience begins with a durational performance by interdisciplinary artist Nneka Kai, whose practice explores Black hair as both material and metaphor. Kai examines what constitutes a free Black feminine form through fiber, sculpture, installation, and performance. Her durational performance at AIC draws from textile sensibilities and structure, tension, and abstraction to interrogate spatial and ancestral relationships.
The program features a curator-led tour of the On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Mourning and Survival exhibition, an exclusive artist talk with Kai and Leslie M. Wilson (AIC academic curator and director of research programs), a guided visit to SAIC’s Textile Resource Center, it also includes access to Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies, and catered group lunch. With over 100 historic and contemporary works from across cultures and centuries, On Loss and Absence explores how textiles serve as vessels for memory, rituals of mourning, acts of resistance, and pathways to repair and survival.
Itinerary
Sunday, Nov 16
10:30 AM – 6:00 PM
- 10:30 AM – 4:40 PM Self-directed experience Nneka Kai: Gallery Performance “Lasting ‘til Sunday” associated with the special exhibition On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Loss and Survival
- 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM Self-guided visit to Art Institute of Chicago (AIC),207 E. Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60603
- 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM After-hours meetup at Cindy’s Rooftop, 12 S Michigan Ave., located inside the Chicago Athletic Association (All dining is indoors at this time and we have a ten-person maximum capacity per table. Based on our current configuration, we are unable to take groups larger than ten at this time.)
Monday, Nov 17
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- 10 AM – Group arrives at the Art Institute of Chicago, using the Museum Modern wing entrance, at 207 E. Monroe Street
- 10:15 AM – 10:30 AM – Group meets in Ryan Learning Center (RLC) studio C
- 10:30 – 12:00 PM – Group visits exhibition On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Loss and Survival with Curators followed by Artist talk by Nneka Kai and Leslie Wilson, and AIC Curatorial team
- 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM – Catered group lunch at the RLC studio C
- 1:00 PM – 3:45 PM – Split into two groups, Group A/Group B
- 1:00 – 1:15 PM group walks to TRC
- 1:15 – 2:15 PM TRC programing
- 2:15 – 2:30 PM return to AIC
- 2:00 – 2:15 PM meet in RLC studio C
- 2:15 – 2:30 PM group walks to TRC
- 2:30 – 3:30 PM TRC programing
- 3:30 – 3:45 PM return to AIC
- 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Group A visits the Textiles Resource Center (TRC)
- 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Group B access privileges to Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies, with additional free gallery time
- 2:00 PM – 3:45 PM Group B visits the TRC
- 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM Group A access privileges to Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies, with additional free gallery time
- 3:45 PM – 5 PM Closing group conversation and exhibition-related talks with AIC staff in RLC studio C with coffee and bites
The registration fee includes museum admission for both days (Sunday and Monday), access to Nneka Kai’s durational performance on Sunday, an exclusive curator-led visit of On Loss and Absence exhibition on Monday, a special artists talk, complimentary access to Elizabeth Catlett exhibition, and a guided visit to SAIC’s Textile Resource Center. Participants will also enjoy a catered lunch, and end of day coffee and bites with fellow attendees and AIC staff.
Please note: The fee does not cover transportation, parking, or expenses related to the informal After-Hours Meetup.
Registration Fees
- TSA Member Early Bird: $425
- TSA Members: $450
- Non-Members: $475
Limited to 25 people.
Places to Stay near the Museum
Nearby Airports
- O’Hara Airport
- Midway Airport
Image used with permission. Barbara Teller Ornelas (Diné; born to the Water’s Edge Clan, Tábąąhá, born for the Water-Flows-Together Clan, Tó’aheedlíinii, maternal grandfather born for Red Ochre on Cheeks People, Tł’ááshchí’í; paternal grandfather One-Walks-Around Clan, Honágháahnii, born 1954). Contemporary Chief Set (Three Miniatures), 2024. Wool; dovetail tapestry weave; extended selvage cord fringe; warp: hand carded wool and mohair; weft: commercially processed, aniline dyed merino wool, respun by the artist; a: 24.5× 25.8 cm (9 5/8 × 10 1/8 in.); b: 24.5 × 26.1 cm (9 5/8 × 10 1/4 in.); c: 24.5 × 26.1 cm (9 5/8 × 10 1/4 in.). The Art Institute of Chicago, Don F. and Jean F. Stuck Endowment Fund, 2024.866a–c.
