From Nov. 8-10, a Symposium took place at the Wisconsin Historical Society to discuss the feasibility of creating a “place” devoted to the preservation and promotion of the art, craft and scholarship of knitting and crochet. The team resolved to begin by developing a virtual online museum, with a digital collection.
The symposium began Thursday afternoon with a reception, followed by welcome and opening remarks from Dr. Ellsworth Brown, director of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and Symposium Chair Karen Kendrick-Hands.
On Thursday evening, Dr. Susan Strawn presented “The Knitting Image: Popular Media, Art, and Industry Look at American Knitters.” Strawn is a professor of Apparel Design and Merchandising at Dominican University in River Forest, IL.
In her keynote address, “So You Want to Start A Museum,” Melissa Leventon provided a number of examples of successes and failures of museum undertakings. Leventon has expertise in this arena — she’s the principal of Curatrix Group Museum Consultants and Appraisers, and consultant to the new Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles in Bangkok.
Jennifer Lindsay, coordinator for the Smithsonian Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project, addressed the concept of a virtual museum. Wisconsin Library Outreach Specialist Emily Pfotenhauer then briefed the audience on the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database, a digital collection among Wisconsin museums.
A panel discussion on “The Values of Heritage and Why It Matters” garnered some positive interaction from the audience. Panelists included Kendrick-Hands, Strawn and Leventon, as well as Vogue Knitting’s Trisha Malcolm and Lion Brand Yarns’ Jack Blumenthal.
By the end of the Symposium, three action items were put into motion:
1. A preliminary working board of directors with seven members was established.
2. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization will be established for a virtual museum.
3. The project is now to be called the “Center for Knit & Crochet – to preserve and promote art, craft and scholarship.” In the coming weeks, new branding with social media and other avenues will be unveiled to reflect the change in name from the Knitting Heritage Museum.
“I am ecstatic that the Symposium was so well attended by such an enthusiastic and diverse talent pool from all across the United States, as well as Canada and Great Britain,” says Kendrick-Hands. “By sharing skills and energy, we have the team that we need to honor knitting and crochet and increase their visibility and accessibility. There is still much work to be done, but we are now well on our way to making our joint dream a reality.”
About the Center for Knit & Crochet
Begun in 2011 as the Knitting Heritage Museum, the Center for Knit & Crochet is a global initiative of knitters and crocheters creating the means to preserve and promote the art, craft and scholarship of Knitting and Crochet. Learn more or like us on Facebook.
