Details The annual Project Threadways Symposium brings together scholars, activists, makers, and thinkers to present research, share stories, and encourage dialogue about history, community, and power—all through the lens of fashion and textiles. Presentations take place in Florence, Alabama, however virtual registration is also available. In 2025, our theme is Food, Clothing, and Shelter. Presentations will explore the intersection of art and necessity, connect climate and culture, and share stories of artists, designers, and craftspeople who shape our everyday lives. Speakers include: Blair LM Kelley — Director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and author of Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class.Windy Chien — Artist and author of The Year of Knots.Liz Lambert — Designer and visionary at Lambert McGuire Design, MML Hospitality, El Cosmico, and the Far West Collective.Jack Sanders — Design Build Architect from Rural Studio, Founder of Design Build Adventure, collaborator of The Longtime, El Cosmico, and other projects.Cathy Bailey — Designer, maker, and co-owner of Heath Ceramics and co-author of Tile Makes the Room: Good Design from Heath Ceramics.Jacqueline Bishop — Writer, artist, professor, and scholar.The Kitchen Sisters — Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, lifelong documentarians and producers of the NPR series Lost & Found Sound, The Sonic Memorial Project, Hidden Kitchens, The Hidden World of Girls, and the Radiotopia podcast, The Kitchen Sisters Present.Judith Winfrey — Food activist, organic farmer, and co-founder of Love is Love farm, Wholesome Wave Georgia, and Community Farmers Markets.Lisa Donovan — Writer, pastry chef, and author of Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger.Board co-chair and photographer Rinne Allen joins Natalie Chanin in conversation about our oral history programming and their recent visit to West Texas organic cotton farms. Join us for a reception with chef Lisa Donovan on Thursday, April 24th. Tickets available here. (Note: Admission to the reception is included with in-person symposium tickets. If you have purchased in-person tickets to the symposium and would like to attend the reception, please email think@projectthreadways.org to RSVP.) Find the full schedule of events below.

<h3>Details</h3>
The annual Project Threadways Symposium brings together scholars, activists, makers, and thinkers to present research, share stories, and encourage dialogue about history, community, and power—all through the lens of fashion and textiles. Presentations take place in Florence, Alabama, however virtual registration is also available.
In 2025, our theme is Food, Clothing, and Shelter. Presentations will explore the intersection of art and necessity, connect climate and culture, and share stories of artists, designers, and craftspeople who shape our everyday lives. Speakers include:
Blair LM Kelley <meta charset="utf-8">— Director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and author of Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class. Windy Chien <meta charset="utf-8">— Artist and author of The Year of Knots. Liz Lambert <meta charset="utf-8">— Designer and visionary at Lambert McGuire Design, MML Hospitality, El Cosmico, and the Far West Collective. Jack Sanders <meta charset="utf-8">— Design Build Architect from Rural Studio, Founder of Design Build Adventure, collaborator of The Longtime, El Cosmico, and other projects. Cathy Bailey <meta charset="utf-8">— Designer, maker, and co-owner of Heath Ceramics and co-author of Tile Makes the Room: Good Design from Heath Ceramics. Jacqueline Bishop <meta charset="utf-8">— Writer, artist, professor, and scholar. The Kitchen Sisters <meta charset="utf-8">— Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, lifelong documentarians and producers of the NPR series Lost &amp; Found Sound, The Sonic Memorial Project, Hidden Kitchens, The Hidden World of Girls, and the Radiotopia podcast, The Kitchen Sisters Present. Judith Winfrey — Food activist, organic farmer, and co-founder of Love is Love farm, Wholesome Wave Georgia, and Community Farmers Markets. Lisa Donovan — Writer, pastry chef, and author of Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger. Board co-chair and photographer Rinne Allen joins Natalie Chanin in conversation about our oral history programming and their recent visit to West Texas organic cotton farms. 
Join us for a reception with chef Lisa Donovan on Thursday, April 24th. <a href="https://alabamachanin.com/products/the-shoals-project-threadways-symposium-reception" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tickets available here</a>. (Note: Admission to the reception is included with in-person symposium tickets. If you have purchased in-person tickets to the symposium and would like to attend the reception, please email <meta charset="utf-8"><a href="mailto:think@projectthreadways.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">think@projectthreadways.org</a> to RSVP.)
Find the full schedule of events below.

A collage of images featuring works by Symposium presenters.

A detail image of textile artwork by artist Windy Chien.

Zero waste fabric swatch in Loulou, and the Project Threadways logo.

A collage of images featuring works by Symposium presenters. double

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Project Threadways 2025 Symposium | April 25-26, 2025

In-Person

In-Person - Student

Virtual Symposium

<h3>Schedule</h3>

*Schedule subject to change. Events take place at The Factory at 462 Lane Drive in Florence unless otherwise indicated.

THURSDAY, APRIL 24

5:30 p.m. &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Reception at The Factory from Lisa Donovan. <a href="https://alabamachanin.com/products/the-shoals-project-threadways-symposium-reception">Register here</a> - registration included with in-person tickets.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25

9:00 am &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Registration and breakfast from All the Best 
9:30 am&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Welcome from Natalie Chanin 
10:15 am&nbsp; &nbsp;Blair LM Kelley of UNC-Chapel Hill on labor and the living arts 
11:00 am&nbsp; &nbsp;Cathy Bailey of Heath Ceramics on considered vs. consumption 
11:45 am&nbsp; &nbsp;The Kitchen Sisters, Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson, on food, storytelling, and connection 
12:45 pm&nbsp; &nbsp;Lunch at The Factory 
1:45 pm &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Windy Chien, author of The Year of Knots, on making 
2:30 pm &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Liz Lambert and Jack Sanders on reimagining place 
3:30 pm &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Break 
5:00 pm &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Sew Their Names exhibition with Florence Arts and Museums and the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art (Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, 217 E. Tuscaloosa St.)

SATURDAY, APRIL 26

9:00 am&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Breakfast from All the Best 
9:30 am&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Knots workshop with Windy Chien 
10:45 am&nbsp; &nbsp;Judith Winfrey on agriculture and advocacy 
11:30 am&nbsp; &nbsp;Natalie Chanin and Rinne Allen on the stories of workers 
12:30 pm&nbsp; &nbsp;Lunch from Lisa Donovan 
1:45 pm&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Jacqueline Bishop on history and memory&nbsp; 
2:30 pm&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Closing remarks 
&nbsp;

Alabama Chanin Project Threadways 2025 Symposium | April 25-26, 2025 Product Page

Project Threadways 2025 Symposium | April 25-26, 2025

Good Things Take Time

Schedule