Social Fabric – Interconnectedness: Patterns and Diversity CALL FOR PAPERS Call for papers by 15 January 2024 – and panels, and lightning talks! Just as fabrics are woven from individual threads into a cohesive whole, societies are composed of individuals who, through their interconnectedness, contribute to the strength, resilience, and diversity that define the very fabric of our existence. This metaphor encapsulates the essence of how societies function, how cultures are woven together, and how relationships interlace to create a collective tapestry of life. The symposium theme invites conve ..read more

October 2023 has been a particularly good month for textile exhibitions: here are some comings and goings of note in the south. The big finish in Christchurch is the last weekend of Te Rā: The Māori Sail at Christchurch Art Gallery. This oldest surviving customary sail is on loan from the British Museum for display in Christchurch until 23 October and, from November, Auckland. In Christchurch, it’s a small but beautifully lit exhibit that lets you get close enough to appreciate the craft involved in making the sail. A view of The Nature of Textiles: from the Andy Ross collection at the Left Ba ..read more

Social Fabric Interconnectedness: Patterns and Diversity Symposium dates Friday 30th August – Sunday 1st September 2024 Venue; Forum North, Whangārei Just as fabrics are woven from individual threads into a cohesive whole, societies are composed of individuals who, through their interconnectedness, contribute to the strength, resilience, and diversity that define the very fabric of our existence. This metaphor encapsulates the essence of how societies function, how cultures are woven together, and how relationships interlace to create a collective tapestry of life. The symposium theme invites ..read more

The opening at Matariki weekend of Donna Dinsdale’s solo exhibition at Ōpunake’s from out of the blue studio gallery marked the halfway point of the gallery’s winter season of textile exhibitions. Viv Davy’s gallery has become a regular part of the Taranaki arts scene for much of the last decade; her workshops and exhibitions focus on fibre, as befits a weaver of over 40 years. Viv Davy moved to Ōpunake about 10 years ago, finding in the remote community a dream location, close to the beach, which supports a low impact life. Her own work is strongly organic and sustainable, and she encourages ..read more

When the Covid-related uncertainties of 2022 caused the postponement of the annual CTANZ symposium, there was talk of going online. The programme was well in hand – but we wanted to go to Oamaru, so we skipped another year. Roll on May 2023 and the decision proved itself with an exuberant turnout and another special event. The long summary will be in the next Context (coming soon), but here’s a brief highlights package. It turns out that Oamaru in autumn is a really great place for a symposium. The weather was fine and warm, which made getting round on foot as pleasant as it was easy. Everyth ..read more

On Friday, it was three weeks to go until the Ōamaru symposium. Time for the checklist: registration, getting there, accommodation, and, if you’re presenting, how close is your paper to being good to go. (No comment.) Another few things to think about follow. To kick things off, the Waitaki Museum & Archive opened the CTANZ 21 exhibition that has been curated to mark the occasion of the organisation’s 21 years. As intended, the list of contributors to the exhibition is a who’s who of CTANZ history. Some of our earliest members: Tracey Wedge, Margery, Blackman, Jane Malthus who have been ..read more

Niamh Dobson, Eton Mess, this year’s iD signature image, courtesy of iD. Photographer George Hood @Georgeshood The sign that the community welcomed the 2023 return of a full iD Dunedin Fashion Week in 2023 was the speed with which tickets to the iD show on 1 April sold out. The second show added to meet demand was at last glance a few seats shy of capacity. Never mind the rugby or Rod Stewart, iD at the Railway Station was always the coolest show in town, and now it’s back there, once again in autumn, it appears that everyone wants to go again. Which is great. In more recent years, iD has rein ..read more

It’s countdown time – around six weeks now until the CTANZ community frocks* up to Oamaru to celebrate the organisation’s old-fashioned coming of age (aka twenty-first) with a symposium entitled Tradition: observance or departure. It’s time to get organised, so to make it easier for you, the provisional programme is now available on the symposium page. So you can check your timing (registration from 10am on Friday 5 May, finishing 3ish on Sunday), and start looking at who’s talking about what and tell all your friends! You can even download and print yourself a poster to remind you of the dat ..read more

Batik by Rozana Lee, image courtesy of Te Uru After a good start to the year, Auckland is continuing to provide the costume and textile community with reasons to hit the galleries. This weekend – 18 March – is a good one for a gallery crawl if you’re looking for a way to spend your Saturday. At Masterworks, it’s the last chance to see Kathryn Tsui’s redwhiteblue while the doors at Objectspace are opening for Octavia Cook and Georgina May Young, and the Rozana Lee exhibition over at Te Uru includes her batik work. Closing this weekend, redwhiteblue features Kathryn Tsui’s reflections on and of ..read more

We’re excited to advise that registrations are now open for the next CTANZ symposium, which will take place in Ōamaru, Friday 5 May – Sunday 7 May 2023, with a theme of Tradition. The keynote speaker will be Dr Patricia Wallace, distinguished scholar of Māori traditional textiles, and CTANZ stalwart. Which is particularly fitting given that this year marks the organisation’s 21st birthday, so there will be cake, as well as the wedding-cake Victoriana of the Ōamaru Opera House. The symposium dinner will be at the Loan & Merc, another building that highlights the town’s heritage reputation ..read more