Over the past year I have been running a series of events connected with the textile collection. The collection includes costume (the photograph left is a detail from an Adire robe from Nigeria, and the image below is a detail from Heather Barnett’s “Formanifera” curtains.
These events have been held (mostly) in the local Regent Theatre, an Art Deco building in Greymouth Māwhera where I have a studio and where the collection is stored. The space is good but not ideal for textiles because it is has large windows with lots of light flooding in and, because it is the West Coast, the humidity is high. However, blinds on the windows and a dehumidifier have worked wonders and the space is slowly getting better.
I share the working space with a friend who sews. That means there is sometimes company and someone to share ideas with, and sometimes I work by myself. The large room we share once was the office upstairs from the auditorium and foyer, and, having been used for all sorts of different activities, is now a library/ sewing room/ office and weaving studio. Through the adjoining door is a smaller room and this is where the collection is stored.
Each time I run one of the “Conversation and Cloth” events I go through the collection to find interesting fabrics and costumes that share a common theme. We have had chats about nature and textiles, about messages in cloth, about clothes and the way they convey ideas about ourselves, about propaganda… there is always a new way to look at the pieces we own.
I have been surprised by the interest in the series. There is a core of about ten people who come along, mainly women but some men too. There is a mixture of young and old, and people from lots of backgrounds. At the last event there were New Zealanders, English, Irish, Southern African, and Scottish. People travel from all over the area to participate in the talks.
There is always plenty of conversation at these events and that is a real support and help. I am an enthusiast but not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I learn a lot about the collection and the fact that there are knitters, sewers and costume makers helps to add information about the collection.
For the next couple of months the series is on hold while we are away and while I think about how best to continue to run the events. I am going to hold one more talk, this coming Tuesday 30th April at 11am in the library in Hokitika, the cool little town down the road. A lot of people who have come to the series have driven up from Hokitika to Greymouth and it is time to spread the word about the collection a little!
Leave a Reply