Awards
Textile Society of America Awards were established to celebrate excellence in the textile field. Scholarships provide financial support to participate in TSA programs. To contribute to the scholarship fund click here. Recipients are recognized at the next biennial symposium.
Founding Presidents Award
The Founding Presidents Award was inaugurated in 2008 to recognize excellence in the field of textile studies and to ensure that the finest new work is represented at the organization’s biennial symposium. The awards are named in honor of the five founding presidents – Peggy Gilfoy, Milton Sonday, Lotus Stack, Mattiebelle Gittinger and Louise W. Mackie. Candidates are nominated by the committee, based on preliminary review of their abstracts, and asked to submit their papers in advance of the symposium for final review. The nominees receive complimentary conference registration and the winning paper receives an additional monetary award. View past winners and nominees. This award is by nomination only.
Donate to Awards & Scholarships.
Student/ New Professional Award
The Student/New Professional Award was established by TSA’s Board of Directors (2004-2006) to support and encourage students and new professionals in the textile field to attend the biennial Symposium. The award acknowledges their fine contributions and covers the cost of symposium registration. These awards are presented biennially to selected 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. The award is open to presenters and symposium participants through an application process. Each recipient is asked to write a short article reporting on the highlights of the Symposium for TSA publication. Applications are posted at the time of symposium registration. View past recipients
Click here to donate to Awards and Scholarships
The Brandford/Elliott Award for Excellence in Fiber Art
The Brandford/Elliott Award for Excellence in Fiber Art is presented at the Textile Society of America’s Biennial Symposium Banquet by the Brandford/Elliott Award Board. The award honors the late fiber artists Joanne Segal Brandford and Lillian Elliott and supports the work of contemporary fiber artists. In 2016 the Brandford/Elliott Award was formally turned over to the Textile Society of America and became a TSA award. Click here for information about the award and to see past BEA awardees’ work.
This award is by nomination only.
R. L. Shep Memorial Book Award
Given annually to a publication judged to be the best book in the field of global cultural heritage textile studies, the award consists of a cash prize funded by an endowment established by R.L. Shep in 2000. The purpose of this award is to encourage the study and understanding of textile traditions by recognizing and rewarding exceptional scholarship that focuses on textiles through the lens of cultural practices and ancestral heritage. Books are reviewed by the R. L. Shep Memorial Book Award Committee. Click here for a list of past R.L. Shep awardees and details on how to nominate a book.
Fellows of the Textile Society of America
Textile Society of America recognizes and honors individuals who, over the course of their careers, have made path-breaking contributions to the field in textile scholarship, education, art, or in sustaining textile arts globally. Two Fellowships are awarded biennially. Through this program TSA aims to foster recognition and appreciation for those who have dedicated their lives and work to the study, creation and preservation of textiles, and in doing so have inspired colleagues and transformed the field.
This award is by nomination only. Click here to read about past Fellows.
Scholarships
Research Travel Grant
Thanks to the generosity of Elena Phipps, TSA President 2012-2014, and Alan Finkel, TSA is pleased to offer this biennial grant for its third season in 2023. The award supports individual TSA members in textiles research-related travel—local, regional, and international of any type, specifically for the in-person study of textiles. The grant may be used for travel to conduct research in a museum, to meet with weavers or artists in their studio and/or local home environments, to see a special textile exhibition, etc. The grant is not intended for travel to TSA symposia.
Click here to read about past recipients
Textiles Close Up Scholarships
The Textiles Close Up program provides a fee waiver for one TSA member to participate in each event. The program offers exclusive behind-the-scenes visits to view important textile collections in leading institutions and private collections, led by experts in the field. Click here to donate to Awards and Scholarships.
Applications are available when registration opens for each program. These scholarships are reserved for members who would otherwise be unable to attend.
Symposium Registration/Financial Aid
Financial assistance is available to help speakers and participants attend the TSA biennial Symposium and supplemental workshops. Assistance is in the form of full or partial registration fee waivers. Each program has an application form that is reviewed by committee, approximately six months prior to the Symposium. To apply for financial assistance you must be a TSA member. Join now.
Applications are announced via email to members.
