Textile Society of America

Textile Society of America
Name	Textile Society of America
Formation	1987
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	United States
Region served	International

Textile Society of America is a scholarly association that links researchers, curators, artists, conservators, historians, and practitioners working with textiles. It fosters interdisciplinary exchange among members connected to museums, universities, galleries, archives, and craft centers such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The Society engages professionals associated with institutions including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Royal Ontario Museum, and the British Museum.

History

Founded in 1987, the organization emerged amid dialogues shaped by leaders at institutions like the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Early conferences drew participants affiliated with Columbia University, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, and Pratt Institute, and involved curators from the Textile Museum (George Washington University), National Museum of Natural History, and the National Gallery of Art. The Society’s evolution reflects interactions with international networks such as the International Council of Museums, American Alliance of Museums, Council on Library and Information Resources, and the Association of Art Museum Curators. Prominent figures connected through the Society have included scholars associated with Harvard University, Oxford University, University of Cambridge, and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Mission and Activities

The Society supports scholarship and practice related to historic and contemporary textiles, engaging partners like the Getty Conservation Institute, National Endowment for the Arts, Smithsonian Institution, and the American Craft Council. It promotes collaborations with university programs at the Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as with galleries such as the Serpentine Gallery and Tate Modern. Programming often intersects with conservation communities at the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, library collections like the Newberry Library and the Morgan Library & Museum, and fieldwork networks linked to the Royal Geographical Society and the British Library.

Publications and Research

Scholarly output includes conference proceedings, thematic journals, and curated bibliographies used by academics at Columbia University, New York University, University of Michigan, and Stanford University. The Society’s publications engage topics studied in the context of museums including the Fitzwilliam Museum, Musée du quai Branly, and the State Hermitage Museum, and intersect with research grants from foundations such as the Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation. Contributors often have affiliations with journals like The Burlington Magazine, Journal of Material Culture, and Textile History, and research liaises with conservation departments at the National Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Rijksmuseum.

Conferences and Events

Annual conferences rotate among host cities that have included New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Kyoto, drawing delegates from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, Musée d’Orsay, and the Rijksmuseum. Conference themes have connected with exhibitions at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, Tate Britain, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery of Victoria. The Society convenes panels featuring colleagues from universities like SOAS, University of Edinburgh, University of Pennsylvania, and University of California, Los Angeles, and partners with organizations including the Textile Museum of Canada, American Textile History Museum, and Fashion Institute of Technology.

Membership and Organization

Membership comprises curators, conservators, scholars, artists, and students affiliated with institutions such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Cooper-Hewitt, National Museum of Anthropology, and the Museo Nacional de Antropología. Governance involves a board with representatives who have ties to Yale University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, and Cornell University, and advisory relations with entities like the American Anthropological Association, Society for American Archaeology, and the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions. Regional chapters and special interest groups coordinate activities with partners including the Handweavers Guild of America, Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museum, and Craft Ontario.

Collections and Exhibitions

The Society collaborates with museum collections and exhibition teams at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cooper Hewitt, British Museum, and the Textile Museum, and interfaces with curatorial departments at institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Art Institute of Chicago, and the Getty Museum. Exhibitions influenced by Society research have appeared at the National Gallery of Art, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Conservation and display partnerships extend to archives and libraries including the New York Public Library, Library of Congress, Huntington Library, and Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Category:Textile organizations Category:Scholarly societies