Handmade 2013, June 1-2, Wellington

Handmade 2013, on in Wellington 1-2 June, includes a wide range of workshops and talks on textile craft and skills among the overall programme. Themes include yarn, stitch, remade, heirloom, world, and offer workshops, masterclasses and lectures. Some are technique based (drop spindling, wet felting), some have an object focus (baby pants, crochet necklaces). Presenters include Tamsin Cooper and Rosemary McLeod and there are beginners sessions as well.

Check out the programme if you haven’t already done and Wellington’s an option on those dates.

Fortuny film…

Either on now or coming soon to Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin, the Resene Architecture and Design  Architecture film festival includes one textile highlight in the form of the NZ premiere of Fortuny and the Magic Lantern (2010, Director Claudio Zulian, 58 minutes, Spanish with English subtitles).

The creations of Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo (1871–1947) are rooted in the rich Orientalist tradition of the nineteenth century. Born in Granada, but a citizen of Venice, he created fashions and textiles, as wellas photographs, prints, lamps and sculptures. Fluidity, the art of pleating, the refinement of chromaticism, luxury silks and metallic velvets characterize his creations—beautiful scarves in silk and velvet, timelessly elegant pleated dresses —inspired by the Orient and the Renaissance. He also  developed processes for dyeing textiles and fabric printing. His lamps and dresses recall the fabulous, exotic world of bazaars, harems and caravans that form an important part of the collective imagery of the time, a world his father, the Spanish painter Mariano Fortuny y Marsal, had contributed to creating.

Screening times:

Auckland…16/5 @ 19:00pm, 18/5 @ 10:15am

Wellington… 26/5 @ 18:00pm, 02/6 @ 16:15pm

Dunedin…08/6 @ 17:45pm

Full festival programme

More about Fortuny

Dunedin talk – Fenella France, 8 May

From the University of Otago Centre for the Book:

Dr. Fenella France, Chief, Preservation Research and Testing Division, Library of Congress, will offer a public lecture on “What Covers (and Protects) our Past.” Dr. France was formerly Lead Scientist in Preservation Research and is an expert on textiles.  In 2010 France made a major discovery concerning the Library’s draft copy of the Declaration of Independence, in Thomas Jefferson’s handwriting with edits by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Using hyperspectral imaging equipment to distinguish discrete layers of ink using various spectra of light France revealed that Jefferson in the draft declaration initially wrote the word “subjects,” then carefully rewrote over it to make that word “citizens.”  She is an alumna of the University of Otago.

Her talk will take place in Commerce 2.03 at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, 8 May 2013.  All most welcome.

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If you’re interested in how an Otago textile researcher got to the Library of Congress via the star-spangled banner, there’s a profile in a recent University of Otago Magazine.

‘Shigeyuki Kihara: Undressing the Pacific’ at the Hocken

Shigeyuki Kihara, Aquatic Centre, Tuanaimata, Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? series, 2013, C-type print, 594 x 840mm. Photo: Evotia Tamua.

The latest Hocken exhibition features the photography and performance art of Shigeyuki Kihara, multimedia and performance artist, and recipient last year of  Wallace Arts Trust Paramount Award and also a New Generation Award from The Arts Foundation.

Undressing the Pacific includes photographs from Kihara’s latest most recent photographic series Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (2013), which feature a Victorian mourning dress she uses in her photographic and performance art.

The exhibition runs at the Hocken Collections, Anzac Avenue, Dunedin, from 20 April until 8 June. There’s an artist talk at 10am on Saturday 20 April.

 

Last week for Home Sewn in Dunedin

To coincide with iD, the Dunedin Public Art Gallery has hosted a local variation on the NZ Fashion Museum’s Home Sewn exhibition, highlighting garments made by local fashion and costume practitioners. It finishes on 14 April  if you want to catch it (or catch it again).

Also in Dunedin, you may be interested in Toitu’s new monthly craft collective initiative – bring your work down and talk to other crafters about your current projects.

 

Postscript:

Home Sewn is so very on trend that it’s even made it into august  pages of the Financial Times, in their recent article about the current resurgence of home sewing.  The exhibition will next pop up at the NewDowse from early August.

Meanwhile, down in Dunedin: Toitu reopens

Over the last few months Otago Settlers Museum has tantalisingly been hiding behind the admonition “No peeking we’re changing”, but from 8 December, Toitu Otago Settlers Museum has been open again and it’s eye-wateringly good.  Several CTANZ members have been instrumental in the revamp, notably Toitu’s director, Linda Wigley, and the project development manager, Bronwyn Simes, and they deserve a round of applause. And lots of visitors to Dunedin to check it out.  The Material Culture gallery is only one of many highlights in the new, 21st century incarnation.  Well done, all lof you – may Christmas be a well-earned rest!

For more information http://www.toituosm.com/

Interesting situations vacant

Head of Fashion
School of Arts & Digital Industries, University of East London
Reference:   079M2012
Closing Date:   Sunday 14 October 2012
Interview Date:   To be confirmed
Salary:  £57,576 per annum inclusive of London Weighting

As a member of the School management team, you will be responsible for managing the staff, budget and operation of the Subject Area, and assisting the Dean and Associate Dean(s) in devising and developing the School’s strategic and operational plans. Provision currently encompasses Fashion Design, Digital Fashion, Printed Textile Design and Fashion Management at UG/PG levels, and also via several UK and international partners. You will ensure that the quality of the teaching in the Subject Area is first-rate, and that curriculum development is both academically relevant and business-focused. You will also ensure that academic and research staff members in the area are engaged in appropriate research, knowledge exchange and scholarly activity.

Educated to degree standard with a Doctorate in a relevant discipline or relevant equivalent professional experience, you will have a credible professional track record and/or research record.  With excellent communication, innovation and change management skills you will have the ability to develop policy, initiate organisational change and implement vision.  Experience of staff and budget management and successful academic leadership is essential.

CVs without completed application forms will not be accepted.
We are working actively to improve the diversity of our staff

For further details on the School of Arts and Digital Industries please click here <http://www.uel.ac.uk/adi/>
Apply online at http://jobs.uel.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=079M2012

Jo Torr exhibition extended

Those who haven’t managed to get to Jo Torr’s exhibition at Southland Museum & Art Gallery may be interested to know this has been given an extra month and will now finish on 31 May.

The Museum also has a WOW exhibit through until 17 June.

Another Black event

The Fashion Museum’s book Black, will also be celebrated in Dunedin during iD Fashion Week/NZ Book Month with a panel discussion led by Doris de Pont, who will join local contributors Jane Malthus, Elaine Webster and Ron Palenski, and Claire Regnault from Te Papa.

Wednesday 28 March, 6-7.30 pm, Dunedin City Library. Admission is free but please book via the library. The discussion will be recorded for later podcasting.

Unzipped on TVNZ

TVNZ’ describes its new Friday series UNZIPPED as “a traditional, observational doco series, following the creative stories, challenges and anticipation of four NZ fashion houses as they prepare for New Zealand Fashion Week 2010″. It will be interesting to see some local material. Even if it is more about the business of staging the event than the business of design so far.

To update, it started 12 August, 9.45pm, followed by what looked like the very first episode of Absolutely Fabulous.