CHICAGO TAPESTRY SYMPOSIUM (CO-SPONSORED BY ATA AND GFR: COMING SOON

March 21 - 23, 2003 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago

By Ruth Manning

Upstate New York is in the deep freeze this winter, but what do I care. I’m looking ahead to the exciting gathering in Chicago--tapestry weavers together in one spot is an energizing event and thanks to hard work by all sorts of people this one will be no exception. I was just reviewing the list of speakers and it’s a wonderful variety. Some are old friends I look forward to hearing from once again, others I will be listening to for the first time.

I’m not sure how many of you have a chance to see the Sunday New York Times, but the end of the year “Arts in Review” they publish annually was most exciting for me to read. Art critics Holland Center and Michael Kimmelman placed the Met’s Renaissance tapestry show in their list of “Top Ten” shows in NYC this past yer. Kimmelman said , “Stupefyingly beautiful, this was the yer’s sleeper, hands down”. How wonderful we have this opportunity to use this as a jumping off point to look deeper into historical tapestries, the work of contemporary artists and the cultural roles played by tapestry.

Key to this event is our own “American Tapestry Biennial IV”, on view at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago. Saturday night we will be celebrating this show with a reception, dinner and viewing of the show at the museum. As I was unable to make it to Convergence this year, I’m thrilled to get a chance to view this fine body of work.

I’ve never listened to Archie Brennan share his ideas and gone away unfilled and I’m sure it will be no different when he presents his Friday evening lecture entitled “Art & Magnificence...But...”

I am hosting our Saturday morning breakfast gathering (scope out the area for bagels and coffee...) so we can connect with faces behind names we know from the tapestry list and other places and reconnect with our friends met at past conferences. Please bring something to share--photos, samples, tapestry, parts of tapestries, techniques, questions. One of the things we love most is sharing and learning from each other and I look forward to this chance.

If you have to miss this great event, Marian and I will be working hard taking notes and twisting people’s arms to become reporters so we can share as much as possible. Need more information? Email tapestry@email.arizona.edu or check out the ATA website at www.americantapestryalliance.org

See you in March!