The studio in Greymouth Māwhera is continuing to evolve as more pieces are added to the collection and as we prepare the space for the equipment to come over from the UK.
At the back of the space is a storage area and that is where the textile collection, which includes the piece below from Venice, is going to be housed. Of course, there will be temporary exhibitions in the windows at the front of the studios but the sunlight with it UV rays is so strong in Aotearoa that fabrics cannot be exposed to it for too long.
As part of the move into the new space there is now an opportunity to catalogue and research the pieces to create a coherent collection of textile history and practice. The decision about keeping each item needs to be made and, if the piece is staying in the collection, it needs to be photographed from all sides. Then any existing details about the piece has to be entered into a database that is on the studio computer.
After that the fun really begins. Each of the items needs to have a body of research to go with it. Sometimes that research already exists and simply needs to be added to the notes in the database entry. Most of the time, however, there is very little known about the items because of their provenance or where and how they were acquired. That means diving into the internet and using tools such as Google Lens to find similar items that may have useful information for adding to the database entry.
This sort of research takes time and so I am looking for a volunteer to help with cataloguing and researching. If you have skills in any of the things that need to be done – photography, writing, researching… – or knowledge about fabrics or techniques, and if you have spare time that you would like to offer, please get in touch. I would be delighted to hear from you.
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