From Cultural Appropriation to Cultural Appreciation at the Center for Design and Material Culture (Museum magazine; Carter, Dodge Francis, Jean, Jenkinson, Mace, Center for Design & Material Culture, Equity and Justice Network, Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, Indigenous EcoWell Initiative and Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery)

Human Ecology faculty, staff and a Ph.D. student describe the school’s efforts to use items from the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection to help visitors understand the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.

Art for your feet — made for no one but you (Wisconsin State Journal; Peck, Center for Design & Material Culture and Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery)

Laura Sims Peck, operations manager for the Center for Design & Material Culture, describes the impact of “Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear.” The exhibit, which featured 11 accomplished shoe and boot makers currently working in the U.S., was on display in spring 2023 in the Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery.

Material World: The Center for Design and Material Culture centers learning on the objects all around us

When COVID precautions limited in-person gatherings and closed campus galleries, the CDMC quickly adapted. Exhibitions were put online. Social media channels were revamped. And before the end of the summer, the center had launched a new website (cdmc.wisc.edu) as well as CDMC Conversations: live, online discussions between artists, designers, industry professionals, staff, and students.

Carter to Lead UW Center for Design and Material Culture at SoHE

Dr. Sarah Anne Carter, currently Visiting Executive Director and Visiting Assistant Professor of Design Studies, has accepted an invitation to serve as CDMC’s Executive Director beginning in fall of 2021.

Design Studies PhD Student Natalie Wright Wins Prestigious Scholarship

Natalie Wright, who just completed her first year of PhD coursework in Design Studies, has won the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Recognized as a top applicant, Wright will research histories of making and disability under the mentorship of Professors Marina Moskowitz and Sarah Anne Carter.

SoHE News & Events: Jan 31–Feb 6

Image: Aaron Bird Bear, assistant dean for Student Diversity Programs, speaks to members of the Ho-Chunk Nation and other UW community members during a heritage marker dedication ceremony for the “Our Shared Future” plaque on …

SoHE News & Events: Sep 27–Oct 3

“Intersections” show glowingly reviewed in The Isthmus | Major funding awarded to research financial vulnerability | Christine Whelan talks clothing rental | Jennifer Gaddis in Mother Jones | Jennifer Angus show opening soon in St. Pete

SoHE News & Events: May 3-9

Hartley Fellowship | Jackson & Commencement | Textile Video |Papp Honored| Expert Robb| Lussier Nomination Hartley Receives H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship Congratulations to HDFS Associate Professor Sigan Hartley, one of 11 UW-Madison faculty who received …

Textile Tuesday: Silver Foil Dress

Dress, silver foil, Reynolds Metals Company, United States, 1968, 37×28″ By Gretchen Meyer, a second-year student in SoHE, studying Retailing and Consumer Behavior. While browsing through the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, I was in …