Women and Textiles in the Collections of Nickle Galleries

Event Details

What can collections tell us about the lives of women? About how they lived? Their priorities and choices? Nickle Galleries has a rich collection of historic carpets and textiles from Asia, specifically West and Central Asia. Careful study of this material suggests how the makers (typically, women) exploited local resources to care for families, to instill beauty and identity while negotiating change. Fro m war and colonization to the introduction of new markets and technologies, the textiles of Asia can be viewed as ongoing attempts, by women, to navigate the future.

Nickle Galleries curator, Michele Hardy will lead this intimate, behind-the-scenes tour of the textile vault sharing evocative textiles from the collection. Hardy is a curator, anthropologist and textile specialist who has worked with the collection for almost two decades. Her current exhibition, Kyrgyz Textiles: Introducing the John L. Sommer Collection, is currently on view at Nickle Galleries.

Please note food and drink are not allowed on the tour and you will be asked to check bags and wash hands before entering the vault. As there is no seating in the vault area, participants should expect to stand for about an hour. If you have mobility concerns, or questions, please contact mhardy@ucalgary.ca.

This event is a collaboration between Nickle Galleries and the Women’s Resource Centre hosted in conjunction with International Women’s Day.

Space is limited.  Free with Registration