Charllotte Kwon with a Rabari Shawl from the Maiwa Collection at Arrowmont

Reporting from Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA, the site of the 2015 Surface Design Association conference. The theme this year was Made/Aware - Socially Engaged Practices.

Charllotte Kwon has just presented "Not Under Glass: Using Collection Pieces to Inspire Revivals." The presentation was about working with artisans of diverse communities in collaborative projects to produce contemporary textiles. Charllotte is showing a traditional Rabari shawl from the Maiwa Collection. The piece inspired a contemporary version which activates trade relationships between four distinct communities: weavers, dyers, and two separate embroidery traditions.

A full description of this relationship appears in Tim McLaughlin's feature article in the current SDA journal. The Journal is mailed to SDA members with a digital edition also available to members. We have ordered copies for the Maiwa Store and will post a separate feature when they arrive.

Charllotte delivers a keynote on Sunday October 11th, after the excitement of today's presentation we are all looking forward to it.