Prairie Interlace: Close-up with Curator and Textile Conservator

The Alberta Craft Gallery in Calgary is thrilled to offer a special tour of Prairie Interlace: Weaving, Modernisms and the Expanded Frame, 1960 – 2000 with Michele Hardy and Gail Niinimaa.

The Alberta Craft Gallery in Calgary is thrilled to offer a special tour of Prairie Interlace: Weaving, Modernisms and the Expanded Frame, 1960 – 2000 with Michele Hardy and Gail Niinimaa examining key works in the exhibition and the challenges of preparing those works for public display. They will discuss both the themes of the exhibition as well as the practical aspects of conserving and hanging textile works. We will take a tour through the Nickle’s textile storage area and look at the threats to preserving textiles for future generations?

Prairie Interlace examines the explosion of innovative textile-based art on the Canadian Prairies during the second half of the twentieth century. Although largely overlooked in histories of prairie art and craft, this was a period of intense energy and creativity. The exhibition features 60 works by 48 artists including settlers, immigrants, and Indigenous artists.

Michele Hardy, PhD is Curator and Acting Director, Nickle Galleries; Gail Niinimaa has over four decades of experience as a textile conservator and is sought after for her expertise, pragmatism, and the professional approach she applies to her work.