LOADING
The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador through the provincial Year of the Arts initiative has the pleasure to announce the Made in Canada: Sustainable Fibre Arts Conference 2024. The Conference is taking place from September 19 to 23, 2024, in Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Sustainability has been a central conversation in the arts and cultural community in the past decade, to say the least, and as such a diversity of makers and craft artists is turning their attention to sustainable practices at a local, national and international level. Last held in 2015, our Fibre Conference brought presenters, participants and visitors from all across the globe together to discuss the exciting developments in the fibre arts; in 2024 we are celebrating the “Made in Canada” fibre artists of the province and the country adding a valuable contribution to the YOTA.
Sustainability is far from a new concept. Sustainable textile practices are evolving and being adopted by hundreds of artists in Canada and across the Globe. Focusing on sustainability and respect for the land, water and air, this conference aims to discuss sustainable and ecological craft practices and materials, and how sustainability can support rural and urban craft communities and move forward in the craft industry with sustainable planning within our discussions and workshops. Artists from other Canadian provinces and territories of diverse cultural backgrounds will present a series of workshops, panel discussions, exhibitions and the sustainable foraging of fibres on the West Coast of NL.
As we move forward in the craft world we have started to have a deep understanding of sustainability within the materials used, the making processes and the need to balance our current needs with the needs of the future craft artists generation. Through applied skills and material-based knowledge a vast amount of makers are turning into their processes to reconnect with the land surrounding them and how their materials are cultivated and harvested. The fibre artists specifically have been learning to create with found materials in nature, to cultivate their own fibres respecting the balance of their land and harvesting only the necessary for their creation, therefore sustainability becomes a social, cultural, economic and environmental endeavor in which fibre artists are deeply rooted in.
This event is bound to inspire you to develop your own fibre art while leaving you in love with Newfoundland and Labrador!
Craft has long been a fundamental part of the formation and development of Newfoundland and Labrador and, although there are many traditional aspects to it, it has constantly changed to fulfill the needs of time and place in which it was produced. Newfoundland and Labrador’s craft has an extensive and dedicated trajectory when related to the mainland in Canada. Inspired by the diverse cultural influences that range from Latin and Anglo-Saxon cultures in the European countries to the uniqueIndigenous traditions the craft in this province has developed to fulfill the need of its people for functional objects.
Today the craftsmanship, the demand for quality and innovation, creativity and authenticity has promoted a boom in the craft industry and, far from just being functional, crafts have become a showcase of talent and contemporary art. Craft has also been a site of considerable adaptation and innovation – as diverse voices contribute to and expand upon its definitions. The province is now a site of considerable experimentation led by a variety of perspectives including Indigenous, Queer-identified and feminist communities.
The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador is a Sector Support organization that works to maximize the artistic and economic potential of the craft community in this province since its inception in 1972.
Over the past 52 years of the Craft Council of NL, our mission has found major expression in the areas listed below:
We respectfully acknowledge the land on which The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador is located as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk , whose culture has now been erased forever. We also acknowledge the island of Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) as the unceded, traditional territory of the Beothuk and the Mi'kmaq. And we acknowledge Labrador as the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Innu [in-new] of Nitassinan , the Inuit of Nunatsiavut, and the Inuit of NunatuKavut. We recognize all First Peoples who were here before us, those who live with us now, and the seven generations to come. As First Peoples have done since time immemorial, we strive to be responsible stewards of the land and to respect the cultures, ceremonies, and traditions of all who call it home. As we open our hearts and minds to the past, we commit ourselves to working in a spirit of truth and reconciliation to make a better future for all.
Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador
155 Water Street
St. John's, NL CANADA
A1C 1B3
Tel: (709) 753-2749
Email Us
