The Trent House, in collaboration with the Trenton Puerto Rican Community & Friends organization and others, is organizing a program of free demonstrations, workshops, presentations, and an exhibition during March on the theme of ‘Fabric, Stories, & Memory.” Most events will be at the William Trent House Museum, 15 Market Street, Trenton, located across William Trent Place from the Hughes Justice Complex. Free parking is available off William Trent Place behind the museum property.
“Fabric, Stories, & Memory” will celebrate the long history of Trenton, the state, and nation of embracing, preserving, and building on the material culture of the many groups who have enriched our country. Visitors can view the exhibition in the historic house of garments and other textiles from Latino, Liberian, and Ukrainian cultures as well as contemporary fabric art from March 8 through March 28. Fabric artists will offer hands-on workshops using fabric to create personal memory books or a collective artwork. A technique for creating two- and three-dimensional pieces from wool will be demonstrated and three illustrated talks describing traditional and modern ways fabric is used to tell and remember stories will be given.
The “Fabric, Stories, & Memory” schedule of events includes:
Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m.: “Talk: The Stories Fabrics Tell: An Illustrated History” with Leslie Bramlett; Saturday, March 7 at 3 p.m.: “Fabric, Stories, & Memory” exhibition opening reception; Sunday, March 8 at 1 p.m.: “Needle Felting: Demonstrating the Technique” with Jen Lichtmann; and Saturday, March 14 from 2 to 4 p.m.: “Bi-lingual Workshop: Creating a Collective Storytelling Textile” with Gabrielle Vasquez (registration required).
Also Saturday, March 21 at 2 pm.: “Bi-lingual Zoom Talk: Diasporican Queens: A Community Celebration of Fabric Artistry” with Gabrielle Vasquez; and Sunday, March 22 from 2 to 4 p.m.: “Workshop: Making a Take-Home Memory Book” with Beverly Keese-Kelley (registration required – families welcome).
The exhibition in the historic house will be open for visitors Wednesdays through Sundays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. March 8 through March 28. For more information, visit williamtrenthouse.org.