New York Textile Month September 2016

London Design Festival is on the horizon, but is not the only place to find textile inspiration this September, as Lidewij Edelkoort has declared it New York Textile Month too

London Design Festival is on the horizon, but is not the only place to find textile inspiration this September, as Lidewij Edelkoort has declared it New York Textile Month too. 

An extract from her NYTM manifesto reads:

‘Today the world of art and design is confronted with a debilitating lack of knowledge concerning textiles. Architects, artists and industrial designers as well as fashion designers no longer know the materials they work with each day of their careers. 

At a time when textile heritage is at a crossroads and centuries of tradition and knowledge are being compromised, the need arises to protect these endangered species in the same way we have come to defend our animal friends in the natural world; therefore we urgently need to discuss and talk about textiles again.

At this time of decline we simultaneously experience a return of the interest in textiles and their cultural expressions…

To investigate and celebrate the survival of the different textile components and expressions NYTM will draft a calendar that scripts all events, talks, walks, demonstrations and exhibitions concerning cloth, helping the general public to better comprehend and embrace the textiles of life.’

Dutch artist Farida Sedoc will turn the The Wyckoff House Museum’s formal parlour into an art studio, as she participates in the two-month residency Thread Lines.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s ‘Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology’ exhibition has been extended to 5 September, the American Folk Art Museum will exhibit a selection of rarely seen quilts from its renowned collection (by appointement only) and Hiroko Takeda is hosting an open studio on 18 September.

Sign up to visit or get involved.

Hiroko Takeda, Giant Waffle weavings, NYTM 2016

Thread Lines, Farida Sedoc at Brooklyn’s Wyckoff House Museum, NYTM 2016