Call for Applications for the
Medieval Textile Workshops
Workshop 1: Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Led by Jennifer Ball and Valerie Garver
Workshop 2: Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Led by Sharon Farmer and Sharon Kinoshita
The Avenir Center
George Washington University Virginia Science and Technology Campus
44930 Knoll Square
Ashburn, VA 20147
I. Description: Supported by the Medieval Academy, the MAA 2023 Local Arrangements Committee and UC Berkeley Department of History, the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum are offering two identical, full-day workshops that make use of the institution’s rich textile collections housed in the Avenir Center on GW’s Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. The Avenir Foundation Conservation and Collections Resource Center houses the majority of The Textile Museum’s world-class collections. These include Oriental carpets and late antique, early Islamic (including tiraz), Indian (including Mughal), Southeast Asian, Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, and Greek textiles. The collections also include textiles from China, Japan, and Africa, although these are fewer in number. The museum also has extraordinary holdings of pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles: styles that are particularly well represented include Ocucaje, Nasca, Huari, Chimu, Chancay, and Inca. In addition, the collections include extensive holdings of textiles in the modern traditions that descend from pre-Columbian origins, including those of Guatemala and Mexico, as well as the Andean countries of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Each workshop day, 2 faculty leaders will work with eight participants alongside the museum staff to examine examples from the collections.
II. Participants: The workshop is designed for those familiar with but not-yet-expert in textile research and scholarship. Due to space restrictions, each day of the workshop is restricted to two faculty members and eight graduate students, junior scholars or independent scholars.
III. Timing: A proposed schedule for the event is as follows:
9:00 Depart from Grand Hyatt
10:00-10:30 Arrive in Ashburn; welcome and orientation
10:30-12 Access to textile samples
12:00-1 Lunch
1-3:00 Access to textile samples
3:00 Return to Grand Hyatt
IV. Application Process
To apply, please fill out the MAA 2023 Textile Workshop application form, which will require the following:
1. Contact information
- first name
- last name
- current affiliation (if applicable, if currently unaffiliated, please include hometown)
- mailing address
- preferred email
- preferred phone number
2. A 2-paragraph statement of interest, indicating which day you would prefer to attend and how this workshop will support or expand your research and/or teaching agenda.
3. A short CV (1 page maximum).
Applications are due by November 15, 2022, 11:59 EST. No late applications will be accepted. All applicants will be informed of the status of their applications by December 1, 2022. Those accepted to the workshop should register by January 1, 2023 to ensure their space at the workshop; any places not claimed by accepted participants by this date will then be made available to applicants on the waiting list.
V. Cost: The cost of lunch and roundtrip transportation to the Avenir Center from Washington, D.C. for all applicants will be covered through the generous support of the University of California at Berkeley.
However, PLEASE NOTE the cost of lodging is not covered, and individuals arriving to the D.C. area early for the textile workshop should be prepared to make arrangements for accommodations accordingly. A block of rooms has been set aside at the conference hotel at the conference rate for workshop participants.
