Exhibit

Woven Worlds

The Contemporary Tradition of Storytelling through Weaving
Photo of a book that includes an illustration of black rabbits and a beaded band
What Does It Mean to Mend? by Stella Nall (Apsáalooke (Crow))
Close-up of a page featuring a bright colored woven design
Detail from "Reminders Within" by Rhiannon Skye Tafoya (Eastern Band Cherokee, Santa Clara Pueblo)
Photo of artists' book with woven design and Arabic texts
Detail from "Qamar 717" by Jacqueline Reem Salloum
Close up of a drawing on fabric depicting a woman working on the loom
Detail from Other Imaginings
Photo of a book that includes an illustration of black rabbits and a beaded band Close-up of a page featuring a bright colored woven design Photo of artists' book with woven design and Arabic texts Close up of a drawing on fabric depicting a woman working on the loom

Through Sunday, May 31, 2026

Harvard ID required

Location

Reading Room
Fine Arts Library
1805 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
See All Hours
Poster design with the title of exhibit and sample images including bright colored woven design

Weaving is integral to storytelling across the globe. This exhibit highlights the many ways in which Indigenous and diasporic communities use weaving to support lifeways, record history, and celebrate culture. Weaving is a diverse practice traversing fiber arts, basketry, beadwork, and more. 

This exhibit showcases several weaving types and celebrates their role as contemporary traditions. Each artist draws on techniques used from time immemorial and interprets them through their personal artistry. While the individual items use weaving to tell different stories, together they demonstrate how this craft unites knowledge keepers from many different backgrounds.  

Curated by Katherine Santos | Choctaw-Apache
Librarian for American Indigenous Studies
Tozzer Library

 

Featured Items: 
 
 

Close-up of brightly colored woven design

Tafoya, Rhiannon Skye (Eastern Band Cherokee, Santa Clara Pueblo) 
Reminders Within, 2022 
Reno, Nevada: Black Rock Press 


Reem Salloum, Jacqueline 
Qamar 717, 2025 
Plymouth, Michigan: Jacqueline Reem Salloum 


 

Book cover with the title and illustration for Diasporic Threads: Black Women, Fibre & Textiles

Plummer, Sharbreon S. 
Diasporic Threads: Black Women, Fibre & Textiles, 2022 
Norwich, United Kingdom: Common Threads Press 

Other Imaginings, 2016 
Uttar Pradesh, India: Curated by Aaron Sinift with Kahkashan Khan and Jitendra Kumar, in cooperation with the Sri Gandhi Ashram and various ashrams in Uttar Pradesh, India.  
Featuring artwork by: Anonymous Gandhi Ashram Artists, Sumitro Basak, Lisa Beck, Shreyasi Chatterjee, Sam Gordon Jenny Holzer, Dorothy Iannone, JP Jaisawal, Pushpa Kumar, Pradyumna Kumar, Judith Linhares, Yoko Ono, Sutanu Panigrahi, David Pearce, Orijit Sen, Aaron Sinift, Tonatiuh Smith, and Phillip Taaffe. 

Nall, Stella (Apsáalooke (Crow)) 
What Does It Mean to Mend?, 2025 
Rosendale, New York: Women's Studio Workshop 

 

Photo of a knitted bag with a pink ribbon. The bag containing a zine titled Knit Knit.

Knit Knit (Issue #4), 2004 
Brooklyn, New York: KnitKnit 
Featuring contributions from: Lisa Anne Auerbach, David Basken, Lisa Bennett, Tanya Bezreh, Scott Bodenner, Tim Brown, Liz Collins, Emily Drury, Staceyjoy Elkin, Lise Hosein, Lovid (comprised of Tali Hinkis and Kyle Lapidus), Jeaneen Lund, Bridget Marrin, microRevolt, Kevin O'Neill, Taylor Painter-Wolfe, Christopher Ryan Ross, Kathryn Ruppert-Dazai, Kate Scott, Megan Whitmarsh, Alice Wu, and Ninh Wysocan