Registration Details:
Registration opens December 16. Registration is limited to members for the first 2 weeks of registration and opens to non-members on January 4. Join at anytime to ensure your space in these popular programs.
Member Rate: $125
Nonmember Rate: $165
Student and New Professional Member Rate: $45
Student Nonmembers: $65
One scholarship is available to a TSA Member – application deadline February 5 (notification Feb. 15th)
For questions about the program please contact TSA Board Member Susan Brown
For questions about registration please contact Caroline Charuk
Program Description:
Join the Textile Society of America for a rare opportunity to study the exquisitely crafted weavings of the Zo people of South and Southeast Asia.
The day will begin with a tour of the groundbreaking exhibition Art of the Zo: Textiles from Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh, with Consulting Curators Barbara G. and David W. Fraser and PMA’s Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles, Dilys Blum. For the Zo, a Tibeto-Burmese minority that comprise over 50 linguistic groups in Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh, weaving is considered the highest form of art and confers status on the maker and the wearer. The exhibition considers textiles in their historical and cultural context from Zo groups such as the Northern Chin; Southern Chin; Asho; and Khumi, Khami, and Mro, including mantles, tunics, breast cloths, skirts, loin cloths, and blankets worn for daily life and for ceremonial occasions such as weddings, funerals, and feasts of merit.
After a group luncheon at the Perelman Building, join the curators in the Costume and Textiles Study Room for an in-depth look at additional examples of Zo weaving from the museum’s collection as well as from the Fraser’s extensive private collection. Patterns, techniques, and local variations will be closely examined, revealing the extraordinary beauty and craftsmanship of these distinctive creations. Woven on simple backstrap looms, traditional Zo techniques vary from un-patterned indigo-dyed cloth to simple, colorful stripes to complex weaves that resemble embroidery.
Expert guides:
Consulting Curators Barbara G. and David W. Fraser have been studying the artistry, structure, and cultural importance of Zo textiles for 15 years. Their 2006 book, Mantles of Merit: Chin Textiles from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh, won the Millia Davenport Publication Award of the Costume Society of America and the R.L. Shep Book Award of the Textile Society of America, and their work also garnered the Ancient & Modern Prize for original research. They have curated exhibitions of Zo textiles at The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., the University of Pennsylvania Arthur Roth Gallery, and Denison University, and David Fraser has co-curated an exhibition at Haverford College. Barbara Fraser is a member of the Advisory Council of The Textile Museum. David Fraser is a member of the Costume and Textiles Advisory Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a Research Associate at The Textile Museum, and a Consulting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Dilys Blum is the Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After graduating with a degree in art history from Connecticut College, she completed her graduate studies in the UK at the University of Manchester and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Since joining the museum in 1987 she has curated over forty exhibitions on historic and contemporary textiles, costume, and fashion. She has written on a wide range of subjects from African American quilts to fashion and Surrealism. She was curator of the acclaimed exhibition Shocking: the Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli (2003), Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion (2011), and most recently Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love (2014).
Itinerary:
10:00 – 10:30: Meet in lobby of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Perelman Building, 2525 Pennsylvania Ave
10:30 – 12:00: Tour of the exhibition Art of the Zo: Textiles from Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, with Consulting Curators Barbara and David Fraser and Curator Dilys Blum
12:00 – 2:00: Boxed lunch
2:00 – 4:00: Visit to the Costume and Textiles Study Room to examine additional examples of Zo weaving in close detail with Consulting Curators Barbara and David Fraser and Senior Curator Dilys Blum
The Museum is open until 8:45 pm on Friday. Please note that registration in the program does not include admission to the main building.
Textiles Close Up is a series of study-workshops launched in 2013 that provides opportunities to examine textiles in leading museum and private collections, guided by renowned experts. Workshops focus on the exploration of the materials, techniques, styles, culture and history of selected textile traditions, which vary for each event. The format offers first-hand, close-up viewing of textiles in the storerooms, laboratories and study rooms of various institutions offering unprecedented access and learning opportunities.
