Proposed Project Title: Geographies in Relation: Patterns as Poetic Practice
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Coordinators:Anita Sinner and Elly Yazdanpanah, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada Research team members: Rita Irwin, Angela Baldus, Elmira Sarreshtehdari, Lei Chen, Raha Atashpa, Mengkai Zhang
Participants: Students and faculty from across the Faculty of Education |
Our teams are currently engaged in three related research projects that weave Textile Cartographies together under the theme of “Patterns as Poetic Practice.” Our first project explores imagining higher education as a co-creative art-sci-tech commons – an ecosystem of transnational, transdisciplinary and transmedia activations – that bring us together with international partners in Egypt, Colombia and Iran. This builds upon a second project dedicated to arts-based methods that foster intellectual risk-taking and collaborative practices through the arts, such as travelling a/r/tographic concepts. Extending our work to learning with the land, we take up the concept of reciprocity to engage with the land on which we live, learn, teach and create. We explore the liveliness of these projects as a process of thinking-making-doing through a series of immersive activities spanning stitching, painting, printing, weaving, crocheting, and more, with fibre arts. We are hosting a series of workshops (2023-2024) that will culminate in a threaded ‘x-change’ with our international partners and an exhibition at The University of British Columbia. |
Patterns as Poetic Practice: A Global Conversation Through Textile Cartographies
Asian Library. UBC, Vancouver. May 2024
This exhibition, "Patterns as Poetic Practice", presents transnational, transdisciplinary activations – bringing us together with international partners around the world as a testament to the convergence of cultural heritage, creativity, and individual and communal narratives. Functioning as a hub for artistic exchange, these artworks are a confluence of voices – local artisans from our workshops and a global tapestry of textile artworks, all united by the power of pattern in which each stitch, each weave embodies a cultural thread, and a visual story traversing borders and continents. This exhibition embarks on a journey not just through space, but through time and cultural memory to celebrate the power of textile art as a process of thinking-making-doing with the threads that bind us.
This global conversation through textile recognizes vessels of storytelling, imbued with the poetic resonance of human experience, the act of creation, and the enduring legacy of craft traditions with respect to environmental and sustainability concerns. Through the lens of “Textile Cartographies”, this collection of artworks becomes a display of aesthetic expression; it emerges as a journey of sensory exploration and intellectual inquiry through traversing the realms of history, identity, and belonging, weaving together threads of commonality amidst the rich tapestry of human diversity.
Comprising more than 200 squares from Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Iran, India, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the United States, this exhibition invites us to ponder art-craft, tradition/innovation, past/present, global/local. Each stitch, each color, each pattern becomes a node in the intricate meshwork of human experience, inviting diffractive about the complex dynamics of cultural exchange and the enduring power of creativity to transcend linguistic barriers.
We invite our audience to explore the multiplicity of layers of meaning embedded within each textile artwork to foster a deeper appreciation for the poetic potential of patterns in shaping our collective understanding of the world we inhabit.
This exhibition, "Patterns as Poetic Practice", presents transnational, transdisciplinary activations – bringing us together with international partners around the world as a testament to the convergence of cultural heritage, creativity, and individual and communal narratives. Functioning as a hub for artistic exchange, these artworks are a confluence of voices – local artisans from our workshops and a global tapestry of textile artworks, all united by the power of pattern in which each stitch, each weave embodies a cultural thread, and a visual story traversing borders and continents. This exhibition embarks on a journey not just through space, but through time and cultural memory to celebrate the power of textile art as a process of thinking-making-doing with the threads that bind us.
This global conversation through textile recognizes vessels of storytelling, imbued with the poetic resonance of human experience, the act of creation, and the enduring legacy of craft traditions with respect to environmental and sustainability concerns. Through the lens of “Textile Cartographies”, this collection of artworks becomes a display of aesthetic expression; it emerges as a journey of sensory exploration and intellectual inquiry through traversing the realms of history, identity, and belonging, weaving together threads of commonality amidst the rich tapestry of human diversity.
Comprising more than 200 squares from Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Iran, India, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the United States, this exhibition invites us to ponder art-craft, tradition/innovation, past/present, global/local. Each stitch, each color, each pattern becomes a node in the intricate meshwork of human experience, inviting diffractive about the complex dynamics of cultural exchange and the enduring power of creativity to transcend linguistic barriers.
We invite our audience to explore the multiplicity of layers of meaning embedded within each textile artwork to foster a deeper appreciation for the poetic potential of patterns in shaping our collective understanding of the world we inhabit.
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Anita Sinner is a Professor of Art Education at The University of British Columbia, Canada. Her research interests include artwork scholarship, international art education, historical perspectives and community teacher education. She works extensively with stories as pedagogic pivots, with particular emphasis on artful inquiry in relation to curriculum studies and social and cultural issues in education. Anita is the lead editor of the Artwork Scholarship book series with co-editor Rita Irwin. Recent books with Intellect include Community Arts Education (Lin, Sinner & Irwin), A/r/tography: Essential Readings and Conversations (Irwin, Lasczik, Sinner & Triggs), and Living Histories (Garnet & Sinner). Two upcoming edited collections (2024) focus on art educators and museums – Propositions for Museum Education: International Art Educators in Conversation, and, Art Education in Canadian Museums: Practices in Action (Sinner, White & Osler). Contact |
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Elly Yazdanpanah is a postdoctoral fellow (NFRF) at The University of British Columbia, a highly skilled and dedicated scholar seamlessly combining the domains of artistic expression and education, driven by a deep enthusiasm for cultural exploration. Originally from Iran, she holds a Ph.D. in art education from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Design, followed by a Master of Arts in Fine Art Painting, demonstrating her commitment to experimentation, and gaining knowledge beyond disciplines and nationalities. Elly has made significant contributions to well-known art galleries in both Iran and Canada, venturing into the vibrant world of art galleries and curating and managing exhibitions. Elly's pioneering research focuses on walking practices in art museums and galleries, exploring the immersive nature of embodied experiences. Contact |
