A collaborative public programming initiative hosted by four Art Design Chicago partner organizations, Weaving Stories is a series of community-building weaving workshops meant to connect shared stories of heritage and culture to material practice. Organized by Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, and Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, with support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, the series invites participants to learn weaving techniques while also contributing to a collective weaving project.
After identifying a common thread among their Art Design Chicago exhibitions, the four institutions embarked on months of collaborative planning to develop this series that illuminates those thematic connections. With a particular focus on craft—textiles, ceramics, bookbinding, glass, and more—each exhibition provides viewers with insights into the artistic landscapes of various Chicago communities from the 19th century to today.
“Each exhibition highlights textiles or weaving in some way,” said Museum Educator Katie Akerboom of Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. “We are following the thread, so to speak, through each exhibition throughout Chicago to tell the stories of lesser-known makers,”
Exhibitions include Radical Craft: Arts Education at Hull House, 1889–1935 at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, which explores the legacy of immigrant artists and arts education at the country’s most important social settlement. At the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Agency: Craft in Chicago from the 1970s–80s and Beyond highlights the contributions of artists who have operated outside mainstream contexts, including immigrant artists and artists of color. beLONGING: Lithuanian Artists in Chicago 1900 to Now at the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture considers the costs of “belonging” for Lithuanian immigrants to Chicago. And at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago as Catalyst: Immigrant Communities Nourish Self-Taught Artists focuses on the self-taught arts practices of immigrants after arriving to Chicago.
Through individual and collective making with weaving and textiles at each site, audiences will experience the connections between these exhibitions. Attendees will learn how to use a hand loom and contribute found materials to a collective weaving project on a standing loom. Participants are encouraged to bring materials from home, such as fabric scraps, fibers, ribbons, twigs, etc.
Not only will audiences and participants get to experience these traditional artforms, but they will add their own contributions to the fabric of Chicago textile history.
“Historically, weaving was a collective practice,” said Akerboom. “People for centuries would gather together and make textiles, sharing stories and lived experiences. With the rise of industrialization, the collective weaving experience fell away. This program hopes to bring that collective experience back.”
The first program in the series takes place on Saturday, September 29, 2024, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. Workshop leaders, artists Liz Larue and Lourdes Guerra, both have personal ties to Hull-House and have artwork on display at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art. Attendees will learn hand loom techniques and will receive kits to continue their projects at home. Participants are encouraged to bring fabrics to contribute to the community tapestry, which will travel from site to site. Registration is required.
Additional workshops include:
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Saturday, November 16, 2024, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, February 8, 2025, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, June 2025
This series is free, family-friendly, for all ages, and open to the public. Materials and refreshments are provided.
