fibertext: education, practice & theory

In October of 1993 the Tradition + Transition: Fiber Symposium was held in Chicago, sponsored by the Textile Arts Centre (which closed it’s doors in 2002). The symposium set out to examine the state of contemporary fiber art- its historical roots, cultural heritage, diversity of expression and future direction. The focus is on the concerns of the professional artist and educator, oriented toward educational, social and political issues, and inclusive of all textile mediums. (from the introduction to the program). I was in my first year of grad school at Cranbrook and all of my peers and Gerhardt Knodel made the 4 hour drive to Chicago for the symposium. We left feeling excited about making connections with other grad students and ready to continue the dialogue. The following year we hosted a graduate fiber symposium at Cranbrook. We had students from several schools attend and participate in panel discussions. Margo Mensing wrote a short article about it in Fiberarts magazine. And that was the last of it.