See/ Prick Your Finger at Riflemaker/ 19-22 September 2012
London
General Information
The Friends of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, UK is proud to present Prick Your Finger at Riflemaker from 19th – 22nd September 2012.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) was established in 1987 in Washington D.C as a private non-profit museum by collectors Wilhelmina Cole Holladay and Wallace F. Holladay. Its inaugural exhibition was ‘American Women Artists’ and it continues to support, exhibit and research art by women artists internationally, both living and dead. This year is the museum’s 25th anniversary.
In November, NMWA will present the third installment of its biennial exhibition series, Women to Watch that features selected emerging artists from the States and overseas. The exhibition ‘High Fibre’ will focus on the centrality of fibres and fibre techniques to contemporary art practice. This year, Prick Your Finger has been selected from a shortlist of five UK artists to represent the UK at Women to Watch. Previous UK representatives have been Rose Wylie (2010) and Elisa Sighicelli (2008).
Prick Your Finger is the innovative and pioneering textile art collective, online yarn shop and resource space/gallery based in Bethnal Green, spearheaded by Rachael Matthews. The collective grew from a desire to make textiles with UK based and ethical yarns and its gallery format illustrates the rich history and anthropology of British craft and textiles, challenging romantic and modern assumptions.
As a preview to ‘High Fibre’, Women in the Arts UK will host a three-day showcase, Prick Your Finger at Riflemaker, launching on the 19th September with a panel conversation on the ‘High Fibre’ theme chaired by Glenn Adamson, Curator of Contemporary Craft and Head of Research at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Speakers include: Rachael Matthews (Prick Your Finger), Sandy Black (author, designer, and Research Professor at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London) and John Paul Flintoff, author of “How to Change the World” and “Sew Your Own”.
Riflemaker is a contemporary art space in London co-founded in 2003 by Virginia Damtsa and Tot Taylor. Built 1712, the historic gunmaker’s workshop is one of the oldest public buildings in the West End. With Riflemaker’s kind permission, the first floor will be transformed into a unique Prick Your Finger Pop-Up environment. Inspired by the eighteenth century room, Matthews has designed and created a bespoke bed with a specially knitted bedspread, which will form the focal point of the exhibition – and perform a functional task as a mini-shop counter. Visitors will be able to view this and other new knitted sculptures, engage in knitting lessons with Matthews, participate in informal ‘open mic’ sessions or simply purchase anything from yarn to PYF memorabilia.
Contact Information
Monica Chung
0207 439 0000
