This spring, the Longyear Museum of Anthropology is showcasing the student-curated exhibition Unraveled: Labor and Meaning Behind Weaving. Created by 10 students in the fall 2024 MUSE 300: Museum Curating class, the exhibition brings together an incredible range of textiles, baskets, and fiber art from around the world, showcasing the craftsmanship, beauty, and cultural significance of woven works.
Taught by Co-Director of University Museums and Curator of the Longyear Museum of Anthropology Rebecca Mendelsohn, Museum Curating is a hands-on, semesterlong exploration of exhibition-making. Students learn about the ethics of museum work, how to navigate curatorial challenges, and what it means to present cultural traditions in a museum space. The course alternates between Colgate’s two museums — the Longyear Museum of Anthropology and Picker Art Gallery — allowing students to work with different collections and curatorial approaches. Next fall, MUSE 300 will be taught by Co-Director of University Museums and Curator of the Picker Art Gallery Nick West, who will guide students in developing an exhibition for the Picker.
In its Longyear iteration, the fall 2024 offering followed an “ungrading” model, giving students the freedom to take creative risks and build curatorial skills. Throughout the semester, students collaborated on all aspects of Unraveled, from researching the featured works to shaping the exhibition’s overarching story to deciding which color to paint the gallery walls.
Drawing from the Longyear Museum’s extensive textile and basket collections, Unraveled highlights the technical mastery and cultural narratives embedded in woven art. The exhibition examines how fiber arts have responded to economic and political shifts, and the role textiles play in identity, nationalism, and resistance. It also features newly acquired pieces from the Jalabil Maya women’s weaving collective in Oxchuc, Chiapas, Mexico, as well as personal weavings and weaving-related pieces loaned by student curators.
These student curator contributions are displayed in a separate case outside of the museum and include such works as an embroidery project passed down through generations, an enormous Christmas mitten, and a well-loved pair of L.L. Bean socks. Accompanied by curator-written labels and photographs, these items offered a glimpse into the emotional and cultural connections people have with textiles in their daily lives.
One particularly meaningful contribution comes from curator Aleksia Taçi ’25, who shared a pair of papuçe — house slippers woven by her maternal grandmother from recycled threads. “Her papuçe have kept me warm during Hamilton’s cold winters,” Taçi wrote, “but they’ve also taught me how easily I can extend my clothes’ life cycles by transforming them into something else.”
The exhibition’s opening event was a celebration of weaving as art, culture, and community practice. Attendees enjoyed a curated playlist and an array of woven-inspired hors d’oeuvres, including soft braided pretzels, lattice-topped quiches, and angel hair–woven meatballs. There were also hands-on activities like friendship braiding and a community weaving project, which will continue to grow in the gallery throughout the exhibition’s run.
During the event, student curators reflected on the experience of bringing Unraveled to life. “I am not a group project person, and this class was one big group project,” admitted Emma Herwig ’25. “It was a personal challenge for me, but I couldn’t be prouder of how this group came together to create something truly meaningful.”
She also touched on the research approach that shaped their work. “We started the class with the concept of collaborative autoethnography where multiple contributors bring their own identities, experiences, and cultures into their work. It was about embracing how we, as researchers, are reflected in our work and supporting each other in that process, all in the spirit of creating a single, unified project.”
Unraveled is one of several exhibitions on campus this spring that explore the art and meaning of weaving. At the Clifford Art Gallery, For Alliances with the Beaver People features an 11-meter embroidered tapestry by Suzanne Husky, illustrating key moments in the intertwined histories of beavers and humans. Meanwhile, at the Picker Art Gallery, the exhibition A Thought Is A Thread examines how textiles continue to shape human relationships, language, and technology.
Unraveled is now on view at the Longyear Museum through Spring 2025, and the full range of pieces featured can be viewed on the University Museums website.
The Curators of Unraveled:
Leila Bekaert ’25
Oscar Brown ’26
Kegan Foley ’26
Emma Herwig ’25
Bri Liddell ’25
Gloria Liu ’26
Meg McClenahan ’25
Anna Miksis ’25
Blanca Rivas ’25
Aleksia Taçi ’25