
PROJECT THREADWAYS
Image: Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin
Project Threadways, the nonprofit organisation founded by Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin, will hold its 2023 Symposium 20-22 April in Florence, Alabama. The theme for this year’s event is The Collective: Textiles as Community, exploring the power of small groups to create big changes through the everyday act of making. Project Threadways will share stories of those who have gathered to weave, craft, sew, and tuft—creating economic opportunity, organising resistance, and achieving self-determination from their work.

Image: Project Threadways Symposium, Textiles and Activism, Barbara De Vries, Sea Plastic, Speaker, April 2022. Image courtesy of Rinne Allen
Friends of the Café Dinner with Nicole Mills
The symposium kicks off Thursday 20 April with a dinner at The Factory at Alabama Chanin prepared by Nicole Mills, Chef de Cuisine of Pêche restaurant in New Orleans. The all-inclusive evening features guest speakers, a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres, a full-course dinner, and wine pairings. Find more information and purchase tickets here.

Image courtesy of Project Threadways Symposium
Project Threadways Symposium
Friday and Saturday programming includes two days of presentations, exhibitions, and conversations. Speakers include Katie Knowles, historian of textiles, clothing, and U.S. slavery; Aleia Brown of East Carolina University; Vallarie Pratt, scholar of Georgia chenille; Diana Weymar of the Tiny Pricks Project and Interwoven Stories; artist Donna Mintz of the Hambidge Center; Viola Ratcliffe of Bib & Tucker Sew-Op; and more. Attendees will tour an exhibit at Florence’s historic Pope’s Tavern museum curated specially for the symposium.

Image: Bib Tucker March Quilt. Project Threadways Symposium

Image: Pope's Tavern Museum. Image courtesy of Project Threadways Symposium
The 2023 event will offer in-person and virtual experiences, with multiple ways to participate. Find more information and purchase tickets on our website here.
More Details
The Project Threadways Symposium is in partnership with the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, the Alabama Humanities Alliance, and Alabama Chanin. Proceeds for all ticket sales benefit 501(c)(3) certified Project Threadways.
This program is supported by funding provided by the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area as well as the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
About Project Threadways
Project Threadways is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that records, studies, and interprets history, community, and power through the lens of fashion and textiles. Our goal is to accurately and respectfully retell the story of textiles—from farm to finished product—and the way the act of making textiles has shaped the lives of individuals and communities. We collect oral histories, analyse data, and stage events that serve as centers for conversation, exploring the connection between community and the evolving region through the lens of material culture. Learn more at projectthreadways.org.
About the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area
The Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area (MSNHA), hosted by the University of North Alabama, spans the six counties of north Alabama’s Tennessee River water basin and was developed to help preserve the history of this region by focusing on three main themes: music, Native American heritage, and the Tennessee River. Learn more at msnha.una.edu.
About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
The Alabama Humanities Alliance is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our mission is to foster learning, understanding, and appreciation of Alabama’s people, communities, and cultures. The ultimate goal: To use the humanities to bring Alabamians together and make our state a better place to live. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.
Contact Olivia Terenzio at think@projectthreadways.org for more information.
Project Threadways, the nonprofit organisation founded by Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin, will hold its 2023 Symposium 20-22 April in Florence, Alabama. The theme for this year’s event is The Collective: Textiles as Community, exploring the power of small groups to create big changes through the everyday act of making. Project Threadways will share stories of those who have gathered to weave, craft, sew, and tuft—creating economic opportunity, organising resistance, and achieving self-determination from their work.

Image: Project Threadways Symposium, Textiles and Activism, Barbara De Vries, Sea Plastic, Speaker, April 2022. Image courtesy of Rinne Allen
Friends of the Café Dinner with Nicole Mills
The symposium kicks off Thursday 20 April with a dinner at The Factory at Alabama Chanin prepared by Nicole Mills, Chef de Cuisine of Pêche restaurant in New Orleans. The all-inclusive evening features guest speakers, a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres, a full-course dinner, and wine pairings. Find more information and purchase tickets here.

Image courtesy of Project Threadways Symposium
Project Threadways Symposium
Friday and Saturday programming includes two days of presentations, exhibitions, and conversations. Speakers include Katie Knowles, historian of textiles, clothing, and U.S. slavery; Aleia Brown of East Carolina University; Vallarie Pratt, scholar of Georgia chenille; Diana Weymar of the Tiny Pricks Project and Interwoven Stories; artist Donna Mintz of the Hambidge Center; Viola Ratcliffe of Bib & Tucker Sew-Op; and more. Attendees will tour an exhibit at Florence’s historic Pope’s Tavern museum curated specially for the symposium.

Image: Bib Tucker March Quilt. Project Threadways Symposium

Image: Pope's Tavern Museum. Image courtesy of Project Threadways Symposium
The 2023 event will offer in-person and virtual experiences, with multiple ways to participate. Find more information and purchase tickets on our website here.
More Details
The Project Threadways Symposium is in partnership with the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, the Alabama Humanities Alliance, and Alabama Chanin. Proceeds for all ticket sales benefit 501(c)(3) certified Project Threadways.
This program is supported by funding provided by the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area as well as the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
About Project Threadways
Project Threadways is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that records, studies, and interprets history, community, and power through the lens of fashion and textiles. Our goal is to accurately and respectfully retell the story of textiles—from farm to finished product—and the way the act of making textiles has shaped the lives of individuals and communities. We collect oral histories, analyse data, and stage events that serve as centers for conversation, exploring the connection between community and the evolving region through the lens of material culture. Learn more at projectthreadways.org.
About the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area
The Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area (MSNHA), hosted by the University of North Alabama, spans the six counties of north Alabama’s Tennessee River water basin and was developed to help preserve the history of this region by focusing on three main themes: music, Native American heritage, and the Tennessee River. Learn more at msnha.una.edu.
About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
The Alabama Humanities Alliance is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our mission is to foster learning, understanding, and appreciation of Alabama’s people, communities, and cultures. The ultimate goal: To use the humanities to bring Alabamians together and make our state a better place to live. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.
Contact Olivia Terenzio at think@projectthreadways.org for more information.