Featured TSA Programs

Watch this space for other one-time or ongoing programs that explore various aspects of textile study, creation and preservation.

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Upcoming in 2026

The Roycal Inca Tunic: A Conversation with Andrew James Hamiliton

Monday, February 9th at 11 AM EST

Register here

Join the Textile Society of America for a one-hour virtual conversation with Andrew James Hamilton, winner of the R. L. Shep Memorial Book Award for The Royal Inca Tunic: A Biography of an Andean Masterpiece (Princeton University Press, 2024).

He will be joined by the 2025 R. L. Shep Memorial Book Award Committee—Dr. Julia Hendon, Dr. Kaja McGowan, and Dr. Florina Capistrano-Baker (Chair) and audience Q&A. Together, they will explore the book’s scholarship, its connection to Shep’s legacy, and the broader intersections of textile studies, cultural heritage, and art history.

About the panelists:

Andrew James Hamilton

Andrew James Hamilton is a scholar, curator, author, and artist specializing in Indigenous art and architecture of the Americas, with a focus on analyzing objects, especially textiles and those made from biological materials, to understand their cultural meanings. As Curator of Arts of the Americas at the Art Institute of Chicago, he stewards the collection, including ancient to contemporary Indigenous American art and colonial Latin American art, and works to present inclusive histories and build community relationships. He curated Jeremy Frey: Woven. His recent book, The Royal Inca Tunic: A Biography of an Andean Masterpiece (2024), examines a famous, unfinished Andean tunic at Dumbarton Oaks, arguing it was woven for the last Inca emperor, Atahualpa. His previous book, Scale & the Incas (2018), analyzed the role of scale in Inca material culture and worldviews, featuring numerous hand-drawn plates. Hamilton holds a PhD and MA from Harvard and a BA from Yale. He was a member of the Princeton Society of Fellows.

Dr. Florina Capistrano-Baker

Dr. Florina H. Capistrano-Baker was formerly museum director of the Ayala Museum (Philippines) where she is currently a consultant. Formerly research assistant for Oceania in the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, she curated the exhibition “Divine Protection: Batak Art of North Sumatra” and authored the book Art of Island Southeast Asia: The Fred and Rita Richman Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press, 1994). Since 2000 her research has focused on Philippine specificities within a metanarrative of global exchange from the 10th -13th and 16th -19th centuries, investigating historical patterns and genealogies of forms, cultural hybridity,and renegotiated identities. Her book Philippine Ancestral Gold (NUS Press and Ayala Foundation, 2011) documents previously unpublished material suggesting early trade with neighbors in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Dr. Julia Hendon

Dr. Julia A. Hendon is professor of anthropology, associate provost, and director of the Johnson Center for Creative Teaching and Learning at Gettysburg College. She is author of Houses in a Landscape, winner of the 2015 Linda S. Cordell Book Award in Archaeology, and coauthor of Material Relations.

Dr. Kaja McGowan

Dr. Kaja M. McGowan’s areas of interest involve South and Southeast Asia with emphasis on Indonesia, particularly Java and Bali (both historically Indic in orientation) studied in relation to the subcontinent. Rather than see India and Indonesia, for example, as modes of influence between two points, her scholarly interests encourage studying the reciprocal relationships between neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. Her research explores the flow of ideas and artifacts along this highway — architecture, bronzes, textiles, ceramics, performance traditions, and visualizations of texts like Panji Malat, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata — artifacts that move and those that are locally produced. This accounts for the shaping of ideas and the development of styles across vast geographical and historical distances. Her work is governed by the complex ways in which History of Art and Visual Studies intersect with Anthropology, Material Culture, Colonial and Post-colonial Theory, Performance, Gender, and Religious Studies.

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Spring 2026 Colloquium

Thursday, April 16th from 9 AM–12 PM PDT

Register here

TSA’s international Spring 2026 Colloquium, “(re)Membering,” will convene April 16, 2026, in a hybrid format at Long Beach, California’s Museum of Latin American Art, the nation’s leading museum of modern and contemporary Latin American art and culture. This event is the thematic capstone of a multi-year journey: from identifying omissions in “(re)Claiming Narratives” (2022), to envisioning new possibilities in “(re)Imagining Futures” (2023), to documenting active change in “Shifts and Strands: Rethinking the Possibilities and Potentials of Textiles” (2024), to reassembling histories in “(re)Membering” (Spring 2026), and finally, to constructing sustainable and equitable systems through “(re)Generation” (Fall 2026).

This half-day gathering will bring together artists, scholars, curators, and cultural practitioners for a vibrant exchange centered on textiles as expressions of identity, resilience, and belonging. The Colloquium will highlight innovative textile practices and research , while fostering cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration among artists, educators, and institutions.

The TSA Colloquium is built upon a core commitment to diversity, equity, and anti-racism. Key goals include dismantling dominant historical narratives, expanding educational and publishing efforts, and most importantly, prioritizing the transmission of ancestral and artisanal knowledge and skills. We place a strong emphasis on sharing case studies that utilize abolitionist, anti-racist, decolonial, and equity frameworks to stimulate learning and discussion.

Featuring:

Keynote Speaker Fafnir Adamites
Plenary Presentation by Maria Maea
Panel Discussion with Yasmin Mora, Maru Garcia, and Katrina Bruins

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Archived TSA Programs

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Documenting the Last Indigo Dyer of San Cristóbal
A Virtual Film Screening + Conversation with Katarin María Laruelle Aránguiz & Karla Faro Ruiz

Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 10 AM EST

Registration is closed. Recording coming soon.

This is a recording of a special Giving Tuesday event featuring Katarin María Laruelle Aránguiz, a TSA Research Travel Grant awardee, presenting her fieldwork and film documenting the indigo-dyeing traditions of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.

Laruelle Aránguiz’s project captures the knowledge of master dyer Francisco Álvarez Montoya through filmed oral histories and dyeing demonstrations. This work is a critical intervention as synthetic dyes increasingly displace these ancestral techniques. Developed in partnership with the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya, the project will culminate in public exhibitions, artisan workshops, and academic publications.

TSA is honored to host a preview of the director’s cut of this documentary, followed by a conversation with Laruelle Aránguiz and Karla Faro Ruiz from the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya A.C..

Read more about this project on TSA News

Read Katarin’s article about this project for TSA News

About the panelists:

Katarin María Laruelle Aránguiz

Katarin María Laruelle Aránguiz is a PhD candidate in Archaeology at McGill University, whose work merges material culture studies with anthropological research. Her methodology prioritizes ethical engagement with descendant communities, ensuring their voices are central to the discourse surrounding their textile heritage.

Karla Faro Ruiz

Karla Faro Ruiz is an education coordinator of the Center for Textiles of the Mayan World. She has been was awarded the Premio Internacional Ibermuseos (Ibermuseums Education Award) for her educational project, “Playing with the Mayan Textile Universe,” an initiative that promotes knowledge and appreciation of textile traditions among new generations. During her participation at the cultural center, Faro Ruiz highlighted the community value of this recognition and emphasized the importance of strengthening ties between museums, artisans, and diverse audiences. She also announced that dyer and weaver Francisco Álvarez Montoya was named a Living Human Treasure, recognized as the last master weaver of indigo in the region, an ancestral practice he has passed down for decades. Karla’s work stressed that this national recognition demonstrates the urgent need to protect traditional knowledge, especially that at risk of disappearing, as it represents an essential part of the country’s cultural heritage.

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bftn x TSA Present: Woven From Nature
A Virtual Film Screening + Conversation

Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 12 PM EST

Registration is closed.

Join the Textile Society of America in collaboration with the Black Fiber & Textile Network (bftn) for a virtual honoring Black fiber heritage, artistry, and sustainable practice. This special event will feature a screening of Woven From Nature, a short documentary film produced by bftn, followed by a live panel discussion with Lauren Baccus, Deandra Eubanks, Teju Adisa-Farrar, and Mahdiyyah Muhammad.

Woven From Nature offers an intimate look at the stories and practices of Black fiber producers, natural dyers, and textile artists who work at the intersection of craft, community, and climate justice. The film celebrates ancestral knowledge, earth-based production, and collective healing, centering sustainability, environmental justice, and cultural memory.

Following the screening, hear directly from members of the Black Fiber & Textile Network in a panel discussion exploring the power of Black-led fiber work, land stewardship, and community-driven systems of care. A live audience Q&A will close the hour-long program.

About the Panelists:

Teju Adisa-Farrar (she/her)

Teju is the founder and ecosystems director of the Black Fiber & Textile Network (bftn). She is the creator and host of Black Material Geographies podcast. Teju helped to develop and was inaugural Co-Managing Director of the Fibers Fund. She now serves as a member of the Advisory Council. Teju has worked with diverse institutions including with the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt Museum, the United States Embassy of Botswana, national environmental nonprofits such as Earthjustice and Fibershed, as well as a member of the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network. Teju has spoken at several colleges including: Princeton University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of Oregon. Her work supports the creation of regenerative fiber systems and climate resilient strategies for Black folks, Indigenous communities and people of the global majority. Teju uses a global lens focusing on local and regional strategies that produce alternative economies at community-scale. She provides opportunities and advocacy for Black folks to connect with plants, nature and our ecosystems of survival. A multihyphenate, Teju is currently based on Mvskoke Land (Atlanta) and goes wherever else she is called. She loves water, dancing, soccer, hiking and reading books.

Mahdiyyah Muhammad (she/her)

Mahdiyyah is a multidisciplinary Upcycle Textile Artist and Regenerative Fashion Educator blending ancestral African diasporic traditions with modern sustainability. She transforms textile waste into wearable art, leads workshops nationwide, and founded the platforms Upcycle Web Directory and Build Your Own Paid Workshop, empowering artists and Black upcyclers. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Forbes, and WWD.

Deandra Eubanks (he/they)

Deandra Eubanks is a multi-dimensional artist and has been the Co-Founder, Chief Marketing Officer, and Director of Farm Programs at Seed2Shirt since 2019. Seed2Shirt is the first black-woman-owned vertically integrated apparel manufacturing company and global cotton merchant in the U.S. Seed2Shirt’s work is centered on fostering circular, value-driven relationships between the Black Diaspora, the land, its stewards, and the materials we create, contributing to an equitable, just and regenerative future.

Lauren Baccus (she/her)

Lauren Baccus is a textile artist, educator and independent researcher whose work centers around the construction of Caribbean identity through textile, costume and craft. Her ongoing project, Salt and Aloes, is a digital resource for art, design and material culture of the Caribbean. She is currently based in Miami, FL

About the Black Fiber & Textile Network (bftn)
The Black Fiber & Textile Network is a global network of over 50 members, including farmers, fiber processors, natural dyers, designers, upcyclers, and artists. Working with plant-based fibers and dyes, bftn members engage in sustainable and regenerative practices that address climate change, social and racial justice, environmental healing, and community wealth creation. Through workshops, events, and co-learning spaces, bftn uplifts the role of Black fiber producers and cultivates systems rooted in equity and ecological balance.

Interested in Sponsoring this program?

We welcome conversations about customized sponsorship packages and cross-promotional opportunities. Let’s work together to celebrate and uplift Black fiber arts, sustainable design, and community care.

Email us at sponsor@textilesocietyofamerica.org.

Thank you to our in-kind supporters: COMOCO Cotton

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New Professionals Convening 2019: Envisioning Textiles Futures

Click anywhere on the image above to begin listening.

This is a recording of the panel conversation from Textile Society of America’s New Professionals Convening: Envisioning Textiles Futures, held on July 27, 2019 at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia.

Panelists include Joy Davis, Regan de Loggans, Lynnette Miranda and Karen Hampton. The panel was moderated and organized by Caroline Hayes Charuk.

Program Description:

At the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, TSA presented a panel discussion devoted to envisioning a field that approaches cultural production with justice and equity, and to examine the ways that structures within museums, universities, and informal spaces can support or hinder movement towards a vibrant future in line with these goals.

This program was intended for TSA members and curious prospective members who are embedded in institutions and systems as makers, researchers, teachers and curators. Attendees were invited to bring experiences within their own institutions to the discussion, in hopes that they find new knowledge and connections to take back to their practices.

The half-day program began with a panel discussion. All panel participants come from backgrounds in making and/or the study of textiles and direct a portion of their professional efforts towards interfacing with institutions related to art, craft, textiles, and other aspects of material culture as it relates to supporting people of color from divergent backgrounds.

The second part of the day included a tour of Monumental Cloth, The Flag We Should Know, Sonya Clark’s  exhibition at the FWM, and a behind-the-scenes look at archival boxes from previous artists in residence.

Panelists:

Karen Hampton has shown her woven and stitched narrative artwork nationally since 1994 and has been teaching college since 2008. Her specialties are surface design, embroidery, weaving and courses that address Art and the African Diaspora. Karen is currently an Assistant Professor of Fiber at MassArt, and a board member of the Textile Society of America.
Pronouns: she/her

Regan de Loggans  (Mississippi Choctaw/ Ki’Che’ Maya) is an art historian, curator, and educator based in Brooklyn on Lenape land. Their work relates to decolonizing, indigenizing, and queering institutions and curatorial practices. They are also one of the founders of the Indigenous Womxn’s Collective: NYC.
Pronouns: they/themme

Lynnette Miranda’s ongoing research focuses on the social and cultural impact of contemporary art and media, critically examining social practice, contemporary craft, performance, new media and video work. She is passionate about centering artists and practitioners of color, not only through representation, but through building support systems and redistributing resources. Lynnette is currently the Program Manager at United States Artists in Chicago. She has worked at leading arts institutions including Creative Time, ART21, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Pronouns: she/her

Joy Davis is an independent scholar of fashion and cultural studies. She has B.A.s in History and Media Theory from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). She is a pending Masters candidate at FIT’s Fashion Studies program. In 2016 she joined Unravel Podcast as a host and producer. In 2018 she launched her own contemporary gallery in Baltimore, MD that has a majority focus on artists of color. She writes about subject matter that is underdeveloped in academia and with the public.  Her work transcends many fields of study which includes: fashion, history, art, media, and performance among people of color through history. Her current research focuses on fashion and race analysis in Spanish colonial paintings.

www.wallergallery.com
www.unravelpodcast.com

Moderator:

Caroline Hayes Charuk approaches sculpture, printmaking and video from a background in textiles, ceramics, and hobbyist craft materials. She is a former member of CTRL+SHFT Collective in Oakland, CA, a studio and exhibition space focused on supporting women, nonbinary and trans-spectrum artists. She has taught workshops at the Berkeley Arts Museum, the De Young Museum, Richmond Art Center, and numerous other community arts organizations. She is currently the General Manager of the Textile Society of America.
Pronouns: she/her

This program was made possible by support from the Teitelbaum Foundation.