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World Shibori Network Foundation / 12 ISS

LXCL:The&nbsp;<a href="https://shibori.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="lxcl-link" dir="ltr">World Shibori Network Foundation (WSNF)</a>, in collaboration with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mkb.ch/de.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="lxcl-link" dir="ltr">Museum der Kulturen Basel (MKB)</a>, presents its signature International Shibori Symposium for the 12th time (12 ISS). The symposium celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the seminal publication, The Dyer’s Art, by Jack Lenor Larsen and Alfred Bühler of MKB, Solyom and Solyom.

Purchase the Insider&#39;s Package Tour.

Venice/Basel Insider's Study Program

The fare included 10 hours of chartered coach with a driver, lunch at Vitra, and 3 admission fees with introductions to the destinations. Start your morning by crossing the border to Germany to visit the Vitra Design Museum, which numbers among the world&#39;s leading museums of design. It is dedicated to the research and presentation of design, past and present. Le Corbusier&rsquo;s&nbsp;Notre-Dame du Haut, an architectural masterpiece of light and form perched atop the Vosges landscape. After a peaceful lunch at Renzo Piano&rsquo;s newly designed foothills complex, journey to Mulhouse to explore centuries of artistry at the Mus&eacute;e d&rsquo;Impression sur &Eacute;toffes.&nbsp;

Full Day Tour  - Ronchamp / Mulhouse / Vitra

Join artist Ana Lisa Hedstrom for a focused, hands-on stitch shibori workshop that brings a contemporary, signature approach to Katano. Explore and combine innovative approaches to stitching, gathering, and resist to create nuanced patterns and textures. 🧵. Ana Lisa Hedstrom, an internationally recognized master shibori artist, travels from California to demonstrate her inventive approach to shibori. Ana Lisa possesses the creativity and imagination of an artist-engineer, taking traditional shibori techniques to another level by developing replicable approaches and &ldquo;twists&rdquo; that are her very own.&nbsp;

Ana Lisa Hedstrom Sewing Machine Stitch Shibori Workshop

Join&nbsp;Jorie Johnson, a master textile artist based in Kyoto, Japan, as she shares her method of combining multiple processes and techniques such as shibori and scouring, to manipulate and dye silk to create interesting surface designs. Not commonly taught in natural dye classes the skills learned in this hands-on workshop lead to intricate layering of design&ndash;a tool that will inspire you to think, strategize, and experiment for your own signature textile designs. Creating a supply of interesting fabrics is your first step to launching fresh and exciting projects.&nbsp; Students will practice making repetitive motif patterns on silk with shibori resist and silk sericin protein removal solution resulting in two qualities of fabric in one: organza and Pong&eacute;e. You will also work with carbon sumi ink, applying it directly on to the silks and also to natural vegetable fiber fabrics (cotton gauze, linen, rayon, ramie).

Jorie Johnson Layered Designs on Silk & Felt Workshop

Step inside the MKB Private Vault to explore the Vanuatu Collection up close with curator Beatrice Voirol. This intimate visit offers rare access to heritage textiles that connect shibori and related resist-dye practices across regions and time. By registering, you support our work to preserve, study, and share textile traditions with practitioners, artists, scholars, and collectors worldwide. Your presence helps us keep these materials in active dialogue with contemporary practice. 🧵🌍

Vanuatu Collection 2.0 - MKB Private Vault Visit

&ldquo;At the Fringe: Klybeck, Kleinh&uuml;ningen, Weil-am-Rhein, and Rhine Harbor&rdquo;: Aktienm&uuml;hle, former flour mill repurposed for creative workshops and other uses by Metron; St Christophorus Church Center, new high-rise brick residential building incorporating a chapel by Mathias Lorenz; iconic Photographic Studio Frei (HdM 1981) restored and converted into an art gallery by studio ne; and a coffee break at the Rhine harbor.&nbsp;

“At the Fringe: Klybeck, Kleinhüningen, Weil-am-Rhein, and Rhine Harbor” – S AM Tour 3

Love shibori and want to see what else MKB has in their collection beyond the Tie Dye Exhibition?! Step inside the MKB Vault to explore the extended Shibori Collection up close with curator Stephanie Lovasz or her protege Alysejah Huber. This intimate visit offers rare access to heritage textiles that connect shibori and related resist-dye practices across regions and time. By registering, you support our work to preserve, study, and share textile traditions with practitioners, artists, scholars, and collectors worldwide. Your presence helps us keep these materials in active dialogue with contemporary practice. 🧵🌍

Shibori Collection - MKB Private Vault Visit 

Join master artisan Jabbar Khatri for an immersive bhandani workshop, exploring the fine craft of resist-dyed patterning within the wider shibori tradition 🎨. Guided by the World Shibori Network Foundation / 12 ISS mission, you will work hands-on with cloth, thread, and dye to learn precise tying, pattern planning, and finishing techniques. This session supports living textile heritage while opening space for thoughtful, contemporary design ✂️.

Jabbar Khatri Bhandani Workshop

Take an immersive, 3-hour guided walking tour through the vibrant heart of our local textile community, where heritage craft meets modern innovation. We&rsquo;ll step inside three incredible, closely clustered artisan studios to get a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the master artistry of hand-weaving, knitting, and quilting. Finally, we will wrap up the experience by stepping into the future of sustainable production at the Fair Fashion Factory, where you&#39;ll see cutting-edge industrial knitting machines in action and tour the Institute for Textile Research. Spaces are limited&mdash;secure your spot today to connect with the local makers shaping the future of craft!

Local Basel Textile Studio Tour

Master the Art of the FoldJoin Plisseebrennerei in their Basel studio for an intimate, hands-on dive into the heritage craft of hand-pleating. Led by artisan pleater Eva Ott and textile designer Anna Gerle, these boutique workshops offer a rare glimpse into a world where paper, steam, and precision transform flat fabric into sculptural art.

Plisse Brennerei - Architecture of Paper Workshop 30 Sept

Join textile artist Kenta Watanabe for an immersive indigo workshop in Sukumo 🧵 Kenta&rsquo;s hands-on indigo-dyeing workshops incorporating itajime shibori give participants the opportunity to work with his exquisitely deep blue Japanese sukumo indigo dye vats. The vats are prepared on the spot using his sukumo indigo kits and water. Kenta Watanabe is a pleasure to work with and has many organizations, individuals, and businesses (including Citizen Watches, Allbirds) approaching him for partnerships. &nbsp;Explore traditional Japanese shibori and natural indigo dyeing through guided, hands-on practice.

Kenta Watanabe Sukumo Indigo Workshop

&nbsp;&ldquo;At the Fringe: Muttenz &amp; M&uuml;nchenstein&rdquo; 16-story (60m) cubic FHNW Campus building in Muttenz by pool Architects: vertigo-inducing atrium views accessed by six staircases that crisscross the atrium over three floors; and in M&uuml;nchenstein Christoph Merian Garden, extensive parklands originally used as farmland since the Middle Ages. Tour includes rammed clay building by Barcelo Baumann and a former barn redesigned as a restaurant by Miller &amp; Maranta.&nbsp;

“At the Fringe: Muttenz & Münchenstein” – S AM Tour 2

Vanuatu Collection - MKB Private Vault Visit

Register as a vendor for the Textile Fair 🧵🌏 and share your work with an engaged community of artists, designers, and scholars. This event celebrates shibori and related textile traditions, from heritage techniques to contemporary practice. Use this form to tell us about your textiles, your process, and your display needs. Your participation supports the World Shibori Network Foundation&rsquo;s mission to connect global textile communities through hands-on exchange and thoughtful presentation.

International Textile Fair Vendor Registration

Join fellow 12 ISS participants for an evening of shared stories, good food, and textile conversation at the Teufelhof Hotel. This group dinner offers a relaxed setting to connect across practices, cultures, and disciplines. This location is across the street from the International Textile Fair, which starts at 6:30 PM.&nbsp; There will be two dinner options available: vegetarian or meat.

Simple Group Dinner at Teufelhof Hotel - Sept 29th, 6 PM

Explore Hiroshi Murase&rsquo;s tsumami shibori on fulling wool gauze in this focused, hands-on session 🎨. Learn how precision folding, binding, and controlled fulling create distinctive texture and depth on a living textile surface. Hiroshi Murase, our Master Arimatsu Shibori Artist and Instructor, travels from Japan to lead this workshop&ndash;a new WSNF offering making its debut at the 12ISS. We think this workshop will lead to provocative thinking, design, and making through the manipulation of wool cloth. The sheep&rsquo;s wool fiber has microscopic scales on its surface meant to cause an interlocking of fibers that trap air and keep the sheep warm.&nbsp; In cloth, the scales on wool fibers allow for interesting manipulations and transformation of the fabric&ndash;matting, shrinking, felting&ndash;to create different densities, textures, and shapes. Add shibori to the equation, and there are a plethora of possibilities for transformation and dye-resist! Murase-san shows us how to use the shibori technique of tsumami or pinching. We will work with fulling wool gauze as substrate. Come think, handle, experiment, and make with us&ndash; taking advantage of the qualities of natural wool fiber to tease out interesting surface designs, shapes, textures, and more from the fulling wool gauze. Junichi Arai, the innovative textile engineer-designer, loved to experiment in this way with wool fabric!&nbsp;

Hiroshi Murase Tsumami Shibori on Fulling Wool Gauze

Join the Museum&rsquo;s Provenance Team for an insightful look behind the scenes into how our cultural artifacts are acquired and cared for. This talk will explore the rigorous ethical and historical research required to trace an object&#39;s origin and legal chain of custody. Discover the essential preservation and conservation techniques our specialists use to safeguard these treasures for future generations.

Provenance Talk - How the Museum Acquire Artifacts

The fare includes 4 hours of chartered coach with a driver, lunch, and admission fees with introductions to the host institutions. After breakfast, we head to the Fair Fashion Factory located at Campus Klybeck in Basel. FFF operates as a sustainable textile hub that brings ecological and ethical garment production back into the urban space. By combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology, it serves as an innovative network for training, networking, and developing circular, transparent supply chains in the fashion industry. Explore the expressive concrete forms of the Goetheanum, a landmark of Steiner&rsquo;s organic architecture and the center of the anthroposophical movement. This curated day offers a profound encounter with modern masters and world-class design set within breathtaking Swiss gardens. Lunch and admission included.

Half Day Tour - Fair Fashion Factory and Goetheanum

Join this rare opportunity to work alongside Master Arashi Shibori artist, Kaei Hayakawa,&nbsp;the last in a lineage of practicing Arashi shibori artists in Japan. Hayakawa-san, who rarely travels abroad from Japan, has for this symposium workshop developed a portable rotating Arashi pole for participants to experience and learn traditional Arashi shibori through a hands-on approach. When in the 1970&rsquo;s Hayakawa-san observed the dying art of Japanese Arashi shibori, he learned and replicated as many Arashi shibori patterns as possible with preservation in mind. He had a machinist design and build a motorized stainless steel Arashi pole. This workshop introduces Hayakawa-san&rsquo;s inventive approach to Arashi shibori and his tour de force contemporary creations. Historically, Arashi shibori patterned mostly men&rsquo;s&nbsp;yukata, a summer Japanese cotton attire. Now?&ndash;It&rsquo;s up to you!You&rsquo;ll have an opportunity to share your thoughts, ideas, and results for discussion and critique. Space is limited.

Kaei Hayakawa: Arashi Shibori with a Master

Connect with the incredibly innovative thinking of textile and shibori engineer, Tsuyoshi Kuno from Arimatsu, Japan. With his extensive knowledge of shibori, dye chemistry, fibers, and more, he grasps the designer&rsquo;s vision and formulates how one might arrive at that design&ndash;folding and binding cloth, experimenting with materials and dyes, building machinery, developing processes&ndash;a truly innovative and empirical approach.&nbsp; You can almost hear his mind&rsquo;s motors purring and churning as he thinks through the possibilities. In this workshop, get a taste of Kuno-san&rsquo;s creative process while working with shibori and heat-setting. Then add this technical approach to your own textile design toolbox. Expand your mind to the ideas and thinking behind memory on cloth, and the new possibilities for design that this mindset can bring.

Tsuyoshi Kuno: Shibori and Heat-Set

Plisse Brennerei - The Pleated Interior Workshop 29 Sept

Join Jorie Johnson&nbsp;Jorie Johnson, a master textile artist based in Kyoto, Japan, who shares her methods of combining multiple processes and techniques such as felting wool and shibori on wool to create interesting textile patterns.&nbsp; Not commonly taught, the skills learned in this hands-on workshop lead to intricate layering of design&ndash;a tool that will inspire you to think, strategize, and experiment for your own signature textile designs. Creating a supply of interesting fabrics is your first step to launching fresh and exciting projects.&nbsp; After preparing a white, translucent, Valais Blacknose wool felt sample, students will execute a tinted pattern through Shibori clamp-resist, wrapping, and use of acid dyes.&nbsp;<p dir="ltr" fr-original-style="line-height:1.38;text-align: justify;background-color:#f9f8f6;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;" style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(249, 248, 246); margin: 0pt 0px; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">

Jorie Johnson Layered Designs on Felted Wool Workshop

Simple Group Dinner at Teufelhof Hotel - Sept 28th, 6 PM

Plisse Brennerei - Architecture of Paper Workshop Sept 28th

An Evening of Reflection: The Symposium Gala Dinner Join us for an unforgettable evening in the historic Grand Hall of the &nbsp;Safran Guild. As the sun sets on our symposium, we invite you to join us for a celebratory gala dinner that honors the past, present, and future of textile arts. This is a night to bridge disciplines and forge new connections. Over a shared meal, we will bring together our esteemed symposium speakers, guests, and fellow participants to toast the creative minds pushing the boundaries of fiber and technology.

12ISS Gala Dinner

The World Shibori Network Foundation (WSNF), in collaboration with the Museum der Kulturen Basel (MKB), presents its signature International Shibori Symposium for the 12th time (12 ISS). The symposium celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the seminal publication, The Dyer&rsquo;s Art, by Jack Lenor Larsen and Alfred B&uuml;hler of MKB, Solyom, and Solyom. 12ISS brings together scholars, artists, and textile enthusiasts. It features plenary sessions, workshops, and travel programs for a meaningful exchange of knowledge, practice, and traditions. &nbsp;

12 ISS (International Shibori Symposium)

Share a relaxed meal with fellow 12 ISS participants at Rollerhof. This simple group dinner is an easy way to unwind, continue conversations from the day, and meet new friends across shibori, natural dye, and heritage textile practices. 🍽️ In the spirit of the World Shibori Network Foundation, we&rsquo;ll gather around the table to exchange stories, ideas, and techniques that bridge traditional textiles with contemporary work and a sustainable future. 🌱

Simple Group Dinner @ Rollerhof - Sept 26th, 6 PM

Join 12 ISS attendees for an evening reception with the World Shibori Network Foundation. Connect with colleagues, visiting artists, artisans, and scholars who are preserving and reimagining shibori and heritage textile techniques. 🎎 By attending, you help strengthen our community of textile practitioners and supporters, from slow fiber and natural dyes to new textile technologies for a more sustainable future. 🌱 Please confirm your attendance using this form.

MKB Staff - Attend the 25 Sept Reception

Experience resist-dye practices through the lens of global traditions on this curated exhibition tour. See how artisans, designers, and innovators bridge ancient resist-dye techniques with contemporary textile practice and sustainable methods. 🌀 Guided by the curator of the exhibition, Stephanie Lov&aacute;sz, this tour highlights textile processes from around the globe. 🌍 Register to explore color, structure, and craft in dialogue across cultures.

Tie Dye Exhibition Tour

The &quot;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.mkb.ch/en/ausstellungen/2020/memory.html" id="isPasted" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Memory &ndash; Moments of Remembering and Forgetting</a>&quot; exhibition at the Museum der Kulturen Basel explores the human ways of remembering and forgetting personal and social life events through over 400 objects and media. The exhibition tour will be given by the curator, Alex Brust.

Memory Exhibition Tour

Experience The &quot;Alive: More than human worlds&quot; exhibition at the <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.mkb.ch/en/ausstellungen/2023/alles-lebt.html" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Museum der Kulturen Basel (MKB)</a>, a long-term display running from September 2023 through January 2029. It features 165 works exploring human relationships with nature, questioning human-centered worldviews, and addressing ecological and extractivist crises.

Alive Exhibition Tour

[If you&#39;d like to be on the wait-list for this workshop, please email, programs@shibori.org! We&#39;ll be in touch once a spot opens up for you.] Ana Lisa Hedstrom, an internationally recognized master shibori artist, teaches this 2-Day workshop sharing her inventive approaches to dyeing and shibori. She possesses the creativity and imagination of an artist-engineer, taking traditional shibori techniques to another level by developing replicable approaches that are her very own. Kakishibu&nbsp;persimmon tannin,&nbsp;a centuries-old Japanese textile treatment, is made from fermented green persimmons. It produces a lovely rusty tan color that requires no heat nor chemicals to fix. UV light develops the color over time. An iron rinse modifies the tannin shades to smoky grey and black; soda ash modifies to a mahogany brown.Indigo&nbsp;will be available for overdyeing the&nbsp;Kakishibu&nbsp;patterns. Discharging indigo&nbsp;with potassium permanganate to create off-white or bronzy shades against a blue background will be another exploration. Starting with a solid blue indigo dyed cloth we will use a bentonite clay paste for brushing and stamping and an immersion bath.These easy dye processes offer great opportunities for expanding your surface application experience on fabric and paper!

Indigo Discharge and Kakishibu Persimmon Tannin – Berkeley

World Shibori Network Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization registered in the state of California. (Tax ID # 88-3551186.) Voluntary donations are greatly appreciated. Donated funds support our work to bring immersive and international cultural programs to the public. Our mission is to preserve worldwide textile heritage crafts through widespread appreciation for them, and by encouraging contemporary expressions and innovations using these traditional textile techniques.

World Shibori Network Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization registered in the state of California. (Tax ID # 88-3551186.) Voluntary donations are greatly appreciated. Donated funds support our work to bring immersive and international cultural programs to the public. Our mission is to preserve worldwide textile heritage crafts through widespread appreciation for them, and by encouraging contemporary expressions and innovations using these traditional textile techniques.

Donate to World Shibori Network Foundation

India Insider&rsquo;s Cultural Study Program&nbsp;invites you into the living traditions of Indian textiles&mdash;on the loom, in the dye pot, and among the people who create them and wear them. We will revel in the warm winter sunshine of South India, whose cultural landscape and cuisine differ markedly from those of northwestern India, more familiar to tourists Guided by the World Shibori Network Foundation&#39;s creative director and founder, Dr. Yoshiko I. Wada, she first lived in India from 1983&ndash;84 under the Indo-US Government Research Fellowship, affiliated with the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, where she formed lifelong friendships with movers and shakers of Indian society. In the decades since, she has returned numerous times to conduct research and collaborate with artists, artisans, and nonprofit projects across the country. Yoshiko has led over a dozen cultural and research-based travel programs to share the immense wealth held by India&#39;s art and craft practitioners, especially in textiles. You&rsquo;ll meet artisans, designers, and scholars who bridge heritage techniques with contemporary practice and sustainable methods. This program supports our global community of textile practitioners, artists, and researchers while honoring the people and places that keep these techniques alive. ✨

World Shibori Network Foundation / 12 ISS

World Shibori Network Foundation / 12 ISS

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India: An Insider's Cultural Study Program

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Events

Events

India: An Insider's Cultural Study Program

Get your tickets

More ways to support us

Donate to World Shibori Network Foundation

Donate today

Powered by

World Shibori Network Foundation / 12 ISS