PhilaU Textile Designers travel to West Africa!

As part of the spring break short courses offered in the textile design program, several of our students and faculty traveled to West Africa to look at and learn about traditional textiles. We caught up with Sam and Mary after the trip to hear about their experiences.

How did you spend your spring break?
Sam: We traveled to West Africa, Senegal and Burkina Faso, to study textiles!

What was the focus of the trip and what were some of the stops on the itinerary?
Sam: The focus of the trip was West African textiles. In Senegal we went to the HLM textile market, Mandiack weaving cooperative and visited fashion designers Claire Kane and Mame Fagueye Ba.
In Burkina Faso we visited master weavers, traditional indigo dye pits, rug weaving studio, and a granite sculpture garden.

Mary: African Textiles.  We got to visit weaving cooperatives, indigo dye village and african designers

What surprised you the most?
Sam: The heat in Burkina Faso!

Mary: Everyone was so welcoming, happy we were there and wanted to share with us.

What experience and knowledge will you take back to Philadelphia with you?
Sam: During the entire trip there was an attention to detail and focus on hand made goods, which is something that is often overlooked in our society. We tend to constantly be looking forward at new technologies, and trying to figure out ways to do things faster. And while that is all well and good, art is about the process. As textile designers we should be able to take the time to enjoy what it is we are doing. In West Africa you can see the love in every piece of cloth, you can see that the weavers leave a little piece of themselves in each piece.


Mary: A better knowledge of what we use, and consideration for how our actions affect other countries. I think I will be a more conscious consumer and designer

How has this influenced your understanding of textile design, craft, or techniques, in a global sense?
Sam: We learned a lot about the negative effects that imported fabrics from China and India have had on Western Africa and how much of the hand craft was being lost. There are groups working now to revitalize the craft industry amoung the natives, teaching them the hand spinning, weaving and dyeing techniques that they all once knew prior to relying on imports.

Mary: I have a better understanding of some african cultures and want to learn more.  I want to be able to incorporate some of their ideas into my work.  I think I have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the craft of weaving and its history.