medium

: Fiber

Two Clouds Tower by Mo Kelman. Karen Philippi

Rooted in childhood memories of Cleveland’s industrial landscape and the burning Cuyahoga River of 1969, Mo Kelman’s sculptures merge water’s shifting forms with the stark geometry of steel and bridges.

Using simple, tactile materials, Kelman explores the tension between nature’s unstoppable force and human engineering.

These works celebrate craft, resilience, and transformation, revealing both the beauty of construction and the inevitability of nature’s power.

Duxbury,
MA
Exhibitions + Shows
Fiber Mixed Media Paper Wood
Yu Jei Yen, Capstone Project: Sitting on the Unsettling. Parsons School of Design

The Parsons MFA Textiles program is a vibrant hub of creativity in New York, where ideas grow through hands-on textile making. Our studio is a community of mindful artists and designers. We promote authenticity, originality, and innovation, channeling the power of textiles to transform art, design, and industry. In this interdisciplinary program, we merge craft and hi-tech to address issues of justice, sustainability, well-being, and beauty in the world through textiles.

Students explore fiber and materials, weaving, knitting, 3D printing, dyeing, pattern design, and embellishment, while connecting these practices to the social, cultural, environmental, and emotional dimensions of textiles throughout time. Learning extends beyond the classroom into NYC’s textile studios and design ateliers, while personalized mentorship supports each student’s creative and technical voice. Welcoming makers, researchers, and designers from diverse backgrounds—including fashion, interior and product design, fine arts, and architecture—to join us in shaping the future of textiles.

New York,
NY
University or College
Fiber
Shopper admiring jewelry at Handmade Arcade's 2018 Holiday Market. Photo Credit: Joey Kennedy, courtesy of Handmade Arcade

Applications are open for Handmade Arcade’s new Modern Craft Market, supported by Contemporary Craft. This juried shopping event will connect shoppers, craft collectors, and retail and industry partners with over 150 of the best contemporary craft makers and artists from around the Pittsburgh and greater Appalachian region.

Applications close on November 5, 2025. To apply, please visit:

https://www.handmadearcade.org/modern-craft-market-applications.

Pittsburgh,
PA
Marketplaces + Festivals
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Aerial shot of maker booths and shoppers at Handmade Arcade's 2022 Holiday Market. Photo Credit: Kitoko Chargois, courtesy of Handmade Arcade

Founded in 2004, Handmade Arcade is a nonprofit that provides makers and craftspeople with opportunities to connect with customers and strengthen their small businesses. Handmade Arcade’s flagship event is the annual Holiday Market, which is the region’s largest handmade shopping event, connecting over 275 makers with more than 10,000 shoppers each year.

In addition to the Holiday Market, Handmade Arcade hosts an annual Emerging Craft Market for early career makers and will launch a new fine craft market called the Modern Craft Market in March 2026, supported by Contemporary Craft.

Handmade Arcade also helps makers connect to shoppers through an online Maker Directory, digital maker storytelling, professional development workshops, and more. Additionally, Handmade Arcade leads annual maker accelerator programs, including a BIPOC Maker Accelerator program and a Youth Maker Accelerator program. Handmade Arcade is dedicated to supporting the economic mobility of makers and craftspeople in Pennsylvania and surrounding states.

Pittsburgh,
PA
Arts/Cultural Organization
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Handwork Week at BARN instructors: Alisa Banks, Jonathan Evison, Randi Purser, Richard Parrish, Ricardo Ruiz, Brian Gillespie, Suzanne Williams, Daniel Winterbottom, Jeff Oens, and Melinda West. Provided by Handwork Instructors/Randi Purser photo by Sue Larkin

Experience intensive workshops with nationally renowned artists celebrating American craft traditions. Transform your practice as you explore techniques that define our creative past, present, and future.

Handwork Week brings accomplished artisans from our region and beyond to BARN for an unprecedented week of deep learning and exploration.

Bainbridge Island,
WA
Workshops + Courses
Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Paper Wood
Artist in Salem, Massachusetts and India, wedding dress and shawl of Sarah Peirce-Nichols, about 1801. Cotton (dress), cashmere and wool (shawl). Gift of the estate of Charlotte Sanders Nichols, 1938. 123571.W, 123590.2. Peabody Essex Museum. Photographed at Peirce-Nichols House by Dennis Helmar. Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum.

Founded in 1799, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) is the nation’s oldest continuously operating museum, dedicated to celebrating creativity across time, place, and culture.

PEM’s Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026 audio tour curated by Paula Richter, features nearly 30 objects from six galleries. Spanning 500 years, the tour explores how handcraft—from colonial furniture to contemporary textiles—embodies artistry, identity, and the timeless value of making by hand.

Salem,
MA
Other Talks + Conferences
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Paper Wood
The Colorado State Capitol. Visit Denver

Colorado Creative Industries (CCI), a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), focuses on strengthening the vitality of visual, performing, and literary arts through promotion, resources, and funding opportunities.

In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence—our nation’s semiquincentennial. At the same time, Colorado will mark the 150th anniversary of our entrance into the Union—our state’s sesquicentennial. As the Centennial State, Colorado is the only one who will observe twin anniversaries.

Colorado Creative Industries is celebrating this milestone with a Creative Capitol exhibition focused on Colorado’s cultural heritage, highlighting the rich history of folk and traditional arts, as well as the contemporary implementation of these modes of community expression and cultural identity. The selected works will be on display at the Colorado State Capitol Complex, including the Governor’s Office, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, and the basement rotunda from August 2026 through April 2027.

Denver,
CO
Arts/Cultural Organization
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Paper Wood
701 Whaley Exterior. photo by 701 Whaley

We are a non-profit art center in South Carolina that produces contemporary art exhibitions, offers year-round cultural programming, and a variety of events that are free and open to the public. These include performances, workshops and classes that embrace not only visual arts but also theater and dance.

Housing both a gallery and an adjacent live-work studio for an artist-in-residence program, CCA provides artists with resources to develop, create and exhibit their art, frequently in conjunction with performing, literary and media arts.

The Center is financially supported by diverse sources including business, government agencies, foundations and private individuals through memberships, visitor donations, and grants.

Founded in 2007, and opened one year later, CCA continues to be dedicated to enhancing the interaction between artists and the public. The Center is located at 701 Whaley Street, in the former community center of Columbia’s Mill District.

Columbia,
SC
Arts/Cultural Organization Gallery
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Paper Wood
WEM Artist-in-Residence Kelly Cobb examining a handwoven and embroidered cotton skirt by Letty Esherick. Wharton Esherick Museum

Working at a Joyous Creative Thing: Weaving, Making, and Material Culture in Letty Esherick’s Legacy, highlights Artist-in-Residency Kelly Cobb’s ongoing research and creative work at WEM. It marks the first public presentation of Letty Esherick’s textiles in at least five decades. They are shown alongside new works by Cobb, as well as artworks across disciplines by a group of skilled collaborators that range from handmade garments to sound art to embroidery.

Malvern,
PA
Exhibitions + Shows
Fiber Mixed Media Other Wood
Show floor of American Craft Made Baltimore 2025. Max Franz

Now in its 49th year, American Craft Made Baltimore is the largest juried craft fair on the East Coast. A celebrated local institution, American Craft Made brings together over 400 artists, 10,000 attendees, and dozens of local partner organizations from across the East Coast for shopping, demonstrations, hands-on experiences, and connection through craft.

Baltimore,
MD
Exhibitions + Shows Marketplaces + Festivals
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Sample prepared by FWM Education. Carlos Avendaño

Moki Cherry lived a nomadic life, traveling with her family between Sweden, London and New York and even around the globe. She always brought her fabric and sewing machine with her, creating portable artwork that could roll up and travel wherever they went.

Learn to create your own on-the-go art in the form of a colorful, patchwork tapestry.

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

$15 Public | $5 Students | $5 FWM members
Space is limited. Advance reservations encouraged

Philadelphia,
PA
Workshops + Courses
Fiber
Moki Cherry, Title Unknown (Dragon), 1975. Textile appliqué tapestry. 78.75 x 137.75 inches. Anders Sune Berg, Galleri Nicolai Wallner

Step inside The Living Temple—a vibrant retrospective celebrating the boundary‑breaking Swedish artist and designer Moki Cherry (1943–2009), whose life was her canvas.

From colorful textiles, costumes, and posters to ceramics, video, and sound, Moki’s work dissolves the line between home and stage, art and everyday life.

Philadelphia,
PA
Exhibitions + Shows
Clay Fiber Mixed Media Other Wood
Lisa Alvarado, in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, Talismans for a Theater of Resilience (process image), 2025. Carlos Avendaño

Working across painting, textiles, and musical performance, Lisa Alvarado creates works rich with visual and sonic resonance.

Through new work created during her residency, Alvarado invites viewers into a meditative environment where she weaves together ancestral memory, collective history, and the land as both record and source of renewal.

Philadelphia,
PA
Exhibitions + Shows
Fiber Mixed Media Other
Nålbinding. Vesterheim

Using a simple needle and wool yarn, nålbinding is a method of making fabric from loops of yarn. Nålbinding, also known as needle looping or knotless netting, is found worldwide and dates back to early Bronze or Iron Age cultures. Fabrics made from wool nålbinding were often felted to create warm, airtight mittens, socks, and hats.

In this class, students will be introduced to the nålbinding technique as they learn to make a neckwarmer, a small bag, and mittens.

Virtual
Virtual Workshops + Courses
Fiber
Knitting Historical Norwegian Mittens. Vesterheim

Join us for a special knitting class inspired by the work of Norwegian immigrant Albertina Dickson, a skilled tailor and beloved community member known as “Granny.” In this class, you’ll knit a pair of mittens inspired by Albertina’s original design, learning traditional techniques passed down through generations. Celebrate her life, heritage, and craftsmanship while creating your own timeless piece of Norwegian-American history.

Virtual
Virtual Workshops + Courses
Fiber