Current programs
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Irish Landscape, Caitlin Parker
Natural Dyes of Ireland, Caitlin Parker
Foxglove Dye, Caitlin Parker
Green Window, Caitlin Parker
Artist, Liz Robb
Artic Circle, Liz Robb
Cyanotype Study, Liz Robb
Nets, Arctic Circle, Liz Robb
Ship-Rembrandt, Liz Robb
Invasive Kudzu, North Carolina, Molly Haynes
Artist, Molly Haynes
Weaving with Kudzu, Molly Haynes
Weaver's House, Madurai, India, Syona Puliady
Syona Puliady, curator of textiles of the Eastern Hemisphere for the Fowler Museum at UCLA,
Syona Puliady
Weaver's House, Syona Puliady
Dr. Erica P. Jones, Senior Curator of African Arts and Manager of Curatorial Affairs at the Fowler Museum at UCLA
Molly Haynes
Kudzu and Natural Dyeing in Western North Carolina
While at an artist residency in North Carolina this past summer, Molly worked with the Appalachian landscape to incorporate new fibers and natural dyes into her weavings. Molly will share how she learned how to process invasive kudzu vines, harvest walnuts to make a deep brown dye, and the artworks that resulted from these ancient processes.
Bio
Molly Haynes is an artist and weaver based in San Pedro, California. Her material-driven works blur the line between humans and the natural world, often appearing both organic and industrial. Haynes earned her B.F.A. in Textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design and went on to work as a textile designer, where she gained a deep understanding of fibers and the construction of cloth. After several years, she delved into her personal practice to focus on handmade works that are free of utilitarian constraints. She has recently exhibited her work at Egg Collective, New York, NY; Arden and White Gallery, New Canaan, CT; la BEAST Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, and Patricia Sweetow Gallery, also in Los Angeles. She attended the Open Studio Residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2019 and returned as teaching faculty in 2024.
You can find more of her work on her website: www.MollyHaynes.us
Syona Puliady
Understanding Textiles through Monuments: A Survey of Architectural Theory and Textile Practice in Madurai
The city of Madurai underwent a tremendous amount of cultural change and exchange during the 16th and 17th centuries. As more cosmopolitan expressions of empire were introduced into the region, artists of Madurai began producing new forms of textiles that were in direct conversation with the old architectures that had long given the city its visual character. In this presentation, Puliady will outline some of the most exciting displays of the interdependence between Madurai’s textiles and monuments that she has encountered in her historical, ethnographic, and archaeological research which inspired her forthcoming exhibition at the Fowler Museum, Textiles as Monument (2026).
Bio
Syona Puliady is curator of textiles of the Eastern Hemisphere for the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Her research has evolved through collaborations with migrant communities of textile artists in southern India and examines how mobile objects created by mobile communities contribute to the cultural ethos of the Indian Ocean realm. As a descendant of one of these communities herself, Puliady has furthered her expertise by learning how to weave the various textiles she researches with artists in Tamil Nadu. At the Fowler, she has co-curated Visualizing Devotion: Jain Embroidered Shrine Hangings (2023) and I Will Meet You Yet Again: Contemporary Sikh Art (2024). Puliady holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University in the study of religion, art, and archaeology as well as a Bachelor’s degree from University of San Francisco in international studies
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Liz Robb
Arctic Dreams: Reflections from My Residency in the Arctic Circle
Liz shares highlights from her recent residency in the Arctic Circle—woven through stories of ice, light, and the nets, she created and worked with in response to this extraordinary landscape.
Bio
Liz Robb is a contemporary textile artist known for her innovative use of natural fibers and traditional craft techniques. She specializes in creating textured, sculptural wall pieces that explore the interplay of materials, including wool, linen, and ceramic. Her work often incorporates dyeing, weaving, and knotting, resulting in tactile, abstract compositions.
Based in Los Angeles, she has exhibited her work in galleries and museums across the U.S. and internationally. She has completed residencies in Oaxaca, Iceland, Provence, Vietnam, Italy, and has most recently completed the Arctic Circle Residency.
You can find more of her work on her website:
www.Liz Robb.com
Caitlin Parker
Textile Inspiration from the Emerald Isle
Caitlin shares work and experiments from a recent residency on the west coast of Ireland. From testing plant dyes native to Ireland, to creating paper collages, she’ll discuss how this elemental landscape inspired new ideas in my work.
Bio
Caitlin Parker is a textile artist, natural dyer, gardener and certified California naturalist. Since receiving her BA from the Slade School of Fine Art, London and her MFA in painting from Bard College, Parker has exhibited her work in galleries and museums across the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. She has had solo shows at Wave Hill, Bronx, NY; Michael Steinberg Fine Art, New York; and Rhodes and Mann Gallery, London. She’s also been in many group shows including exhibitions at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, Field Projects Gallery, LABspace, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and the Palos Verdes Art Center. She was the recipient of a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant, which took her to conduct research and photograph Ukraine’s Chernobyl site. She has been an artist in residence at the studios at MASS MoCA, Drop Forge & Tool in Hudson, NY and Cill Rialaig in Ireland. She has taught workshops at the New York Botanical Garden, Wave Hill and Naumkeag. She grew up in Northern California and currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
You can find more of her work on her website:
www.CaitlinParker.com
and on Instagram @catlin_a_parker
Dr. Erica P. Jones
Brides in Gold: Tunisian Wedding Costumes from the 19th-20th centuries
Historically, on the third day of a Tunisian wedding, the bride arrived clad in a glittering, structured costume embroidered heavily in gold and silver threads. The wedding garments reflect the rich pluralism of Tunisia—shaped by its history as a crossroads for the Mediterranean and trans-Saharan trade, ideas, and peoples within the wider cultural networks of the former Ottoman Empire. The tunics, vests, and hats in this presentation capture a snapshot of this centuries-old tradition during a 35- to 50-year window in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Bio
Dr. Erica P. Jones is the Senior Curator of African Arts and Manager of Curatorial Affairs at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Since joining the Fowler, she has curated or co-curated many exhibitions including Meleko Mokgosi: Bread, Butter, and Power (2018), Inheritance: Recent Video Art from Africa (2019), and The House Was Too Small: Yoruba Sacred Arts from Nigeria and Beyond (2023). Jones is on the board of African Arts Journal and is the former co-chair of the Collaboration, Collections, and Restitution Best Practices for North American Museums Holding African Objects Working Group. Her publishing centers on colonial-era provenance and the arts of the Cameroon Grassfields.
Thank you for registering for this in-person public program hosted by the Fowler Museum at UCLA.
Getting to the Fowler
Address: 308 Charles E Young Dr N
Parking info: UCLA Lot 4, 198 Westwood Plaza, directly off Sunset Blvd ($5/hr or max $17/day)
Rideshare drop-off: 305 Royce Dr
We recommend you arrive 15 minutes early for parking and check-in.
Upon arrival in Lot 4, stay left and turn into the Pay-by-Plate area of the lot. You will need your license plate number for the pay stations (accepting $1 and $5 bills and credit cards). Once paid, walk upstairs toward the Janss Steps and turn left at the base of the large staircase. The Fowler will be 200 feet ahead on your right..