World Shibori Network
Celebrating the visual languages of PEOPLE, COMMUNITY, CULTURE, and ENVIRONMENT through the global practice of resist-dye traditions and innovations, keeping in mind authenticity, reciprocity, and networking.
International Programs
Recent Programs
SHIBORI EXHIBITIONS MT. KOYA – Led by WSN Japan | October 14 – 19
To celebrate their 35th anniversary, Japan’s Shibori Community mounted a major exhibition at the main temple Kongobuji on Mount Koya (Koya-san) 14 – 19 October, 2019. WSN’s Shibori MINI, which was well received at the 11th International Shibori Symposium (ISS) in Nagoya, was featured along with large shibori art panels created by the members of Shibori Community, the artists group led by Mr. Kaei Hayakawa, artist and master arashi shibori artisan in Arimatsu.
Japan | September – October 2019
Pre-Main Tour: September 16-22, 2019 (6 nights, 6 days)
Himeji → Shodoshima → Benesse House on Naoshima → Kurashiki
- Buddhist pilgrimage sites and traditional soy sauce maker on Shodoshima
- Inland Sea Art Islands with surprising art installations and sculptures on Shodohima, Inujima, Teshima, Naoshima in the year of the Setouchi Triennale
- Picturesque islands with rice patties and fishing villages against the gentle water of inland sea
Main Tour: 20 September – 07 October (17 nights, 17 days)
Himeji → Kurashiki → Omoricho → Izumo → Matsue → Miyama → Kyoto → Miho Museum → Nagoya → Tokyo → Takasaki → Kiryu → Nagoya
- Old canal town to forgotten silver mine town, and grand Shinto shrine of Izumo and Ancient History Museum on the coast of the Sea of Japan
- Thatched-roofed villages; visit a master indigo dyer, Buddhist temples,gardens, art museums, and contemporary design studios
- Imperial Capital, Kyoto, to Shogunate Capital, Edo, now cosmopolitan Tokyo; handmade paper to pottery; and sericulture to textile mills
- wide culinary experiences, including monks’ food, exquisite kaiseki, Bohemian fusion, sushi counter, and casual eateries
- culminate your Japan experience by celebrating the Autumn Festival along the historic Tokaido highway with local friends .
France | June-July, 2019
Paris · Loire Valley· Brittany
Demonstrations by Michel Garcia
Led by Yoshiko I. Wada
Led by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, founder of Slow Fiber Studios and producer of the Natural Dye Workshop film series, the 2nd France Study Tour will explore Paris and the cultural regions of the Loire Valley and Brittany, inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic Period.
Focus on some of the most precious textile works in history, including the Apocalypse Tapestry, a 600 year–old naturally dyed masterpiece spanning 140m. Gain a deeper understanding of European textile manufacturing, from medieval dyeing processes to the rise of industrial cotton mills and global trade, to Michel Garcia’s insights into modern organic chemistry. Join him at his new studio in Brittany as he continues his research and experimentation to unlock the mysteries of natural colors.
China | May-June, 2019
Shanghai & Surrounds → Hangzhou → Yi Autonomous Region
Led by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, president of World Shibori Network, founder of Slow Fiber Studios, and co-chair of the 9th International Shibori Symposium with Dr. Zhao Feng at the CNSM, lead the 4th China Study Tour offered in three parts (Tours A, B, and C). Participants immersed in heritage art, contemporary design, regional craft, and remote cultures as they explored internationally influential cities in western China and remote ethnic sites in southwest regions. They visited the cities of Shanghai, Chongming, and Suzhou with highlights at Jin Ze Arts Centre on Tour A. In Tour B, the first Biennale of Natural Dyes (BoND) was held at the China National Silk Museum (CNSM) in Hangzhou. In Tour C, travelers explored first-hand the lives of minority groups in the Yi Minority Autonomous Region, including Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.
India 2019
Ahmedabad · Bhuj · Kochi · Munnar
Led by textile scholar and Slow Fiber Studios founder Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, the 6th India Study Tour focused on local textile craft, inventive traditional and contemporary art, and historic architectural sites by traveling to some of India’s most vibrant cultural centers and natural beauty from Rann of Kutch to Backwater of Kerala to Green Hills of Western Ghats.
We explored the contemporary art exhibitions at the Kochi-Muziris International Biennale; exchanged ideas and broadened our dyeing knowledge at the Natural Dye International Forum in Munnar; we visited with collectors, artists, and designers at their private homes and studios; wandered through the collections at key museums and galleries; engaged in hands-on workshops with local artisans; enjoyed local cuisine and overnight stays at traditional inns and historic haveli townhouses.
Japan 2017
Nagoya · Kyoto · Takasaki · Kiryu · Yonezawa · Yamagata · Tokyo
Led by Slow Fiber Studios founder Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, this tour included visits to key cultural and textile centers including artisan studios in Arimatsu-Narumi, a neighborhood with over 400 years of history practicing traditional Japanese shibori dyeing; some of the last remaining sericulture farms and factories producing Japanese silk; and safflower dyeing museum in the Tōhoku region. Travelers were given the opportunity to visit artist’s homes and studios, unusual museums, gardens, and temples; engage in hands-on workshops with local artisans; and enjoy seasonal Japanese cuisine and unique traditional inns. The Post-Tour Extension focused on contemporary art and architecture and featured visits to unique and hard-to-reach art sites as well as stops along the Shōdoshima Island with Buddhist pilgrimage route.
Slow Fiber Studios Tour | India 2017
Delhi · Rajasthan · Gujurat · Munnar · Pollachi
This year, the Slow Fiber Studios travel program to India threaded together authentic experiences not only in different histories and practices of textiles, but in architecture, design, ecology, cuisine, and culture. Viewing the architecture of Delhi through the beauty of Sufi poetry, connecting the practice of Vriksha Ayurveda with the cultivation of organic cotton, or pairing the art of split ply weaving with the aromas of a home cooked meal were woven together to create a unique itinerary.
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