Tag: travel

  • Global fashion done local

    Lagos, the most populous of Africa’s cities, has a name for fashion. Global trends combined with local aesthetics and sensibilities are producing some of the most exciting fashion in the world, as you can see in this article that explores the phenomenon of cosmopolitan African fashion. Africa has already gained the attention of the fashion…

  • The Herds

    Have you been following The Herds? This huge public art project brilliantly brings the plight and flight of animals at a time of climate change, habitat destruction and enforced movement to life.

  • The impact of tourism

    Tourism can be good but there are downsides to it. In the Maldives, tourism is having an impact on the lives of the islands’ inhabitants. In “Local Living”, a project of images and videos taken of a rapidly changing culture, Ali Assadhu from the island of Kinbidhoo works to preserve traditions before they disappear forever.…

  • CTANZ symposium – Fascination

    The recent Costume and Textiles Aotearoa New Zealand symposium was held in Dunedin Ōtepoti and it was based on the theme of “Fascination”. Dunedin has a proud history and heritage of settlement and the symposium was held in Toitū Otago Settlers Museum. The event was split into two streams of presentations, one in the auditorium…

  • Woven Histories

    New York’s Museum of Modern Art is currently hosting Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction. The show, on until 13th September this year, connects the development of ideas in abstract art with textiles and clothing. (The MoMA magazine offers seven ways to experience the exhibition.) With artists and makers such as Anni Albers, Olga de…

  • A brief hiatus

    Hello, dear readers, Over the past few weeks I have had lots of good wishes and support for the studio in Māwhera Greymouth. The mountain of boxes and paper and wrapping and crates has dwindled and diminished to a much more manageable amount and the smallest of the computerised looms is now up and running…

  • What’s on Spotify?

    This week’s playlist features: Haneko odori by Tomoe-Ryu Yutadaiko This traditional Japanese taiko drumming piece was recorded in Québec, Canada by the ensemble. The title, taken from the album, is translated as “Bouncing Dance”. Elijah. Op. 70. MWV A25 by Felix Mendelssohn Contralto Clara Serena continues this playlist with a piece from Elijah, the oratorio…

  • CTANZ symposium

    Costume and Textiles Aotearoa New Zealand is holding its annual symposium in a couple of weeks in Dunedin. CTANZ is a membership association of enthusiasts, curators, artists, makers, educators, researchers… anyone with an interest in textiles and costumes is able to join and attend symposium at a discounted fee. This year the theme of is…

  • Old movies on YouTube

    In the days when films in the cinema were categorised (“A” – the main feature, “B” for a shorter accompaniment to go with the main film, and, below that, “C” and even “Z”) the big breaks into the movie industry for actors and designers often came through the “B” movies. With the advent of television,…

  • Mitsuko Asakura

    Mitsuko Asakura is a Japanese artist from Kyoto. Kyoto is home to the famous Gion Festival with its elaborate floats of textiles and sculpture, bearing witness to the city’s rich textile history. Asakura became interested in dyeing – her father was a skilled dyer – and weaving at an early age and her work has…