This year the ETN conference was held in at the fabulous Textile Museum in Haslach Austria between July 27th - 31st. Back in 2006 we showed 21:21 - the textile vision of Reiko Sudo and NUNO in this venue when it was still an empty mill and the dream of Christina Leitner to turn it into a museum. And she has achieved her dream, more than...the museum was awarded Museum of the Year! Remarkable achievement! And from now on ETN will be based at the Museum.
The Conference was very well organised and Chaired with great professionalism by Tim Parry Williams. Sadly Beatrijs Sterk, retiring President of ETN was taken ill and so could not present, however her Paper was read on her behalf by current President Lala de Dios.
There were speakers from all over the world including Lia Cooke (USA), Mary Schoesser (UK/USA), Giselle Eberhard Cotton (Switzerland), Marta Kowalewska (Poland) - so many! I presented my Paper The Sensuous Cloth on the first day, and I was followed by our wonderful colleague and co-ordinator in Japan: Keiko Kawashima. In the evening all the galleries in Haslach opened up and I visited the exhibition of tapestries by Marga Persson and the most exquisite and moving exhibition of old/antique Japanese textiles from the collection of Kei Kawasaka in the ancient clock tower of Haslach.
The second day we all visited the Garden of Eden exhibition which was installed in the beautiful and atmospheric Schloss Neuhaus on the river Danube. We then took a boat along the Danube to Linz to visit the Ars Electronica Museum for a collaborative presentation between the Museum and the graduating fashion and textile students from Linz University. Then on again by coach to a private gallery and arts centre in the countryside for supper and a viewing of artists work. The final day (for me) featured a presentation from Reiko Sudo as we all sat beneath her Koi Carp installation at the Museum in Haslach.
In the evening we had the final dinner and here you see me with Reiko Sudo, Jun Tomita and Yuka Kawai.
