John B. Hurford '60Center for the Arts and Humanities

Introducing “futuring” as a communal exercise, visual artist Yannick Lowery will lead a workshop using paper collage to visualize our collective futures. By reframing the theme of rest as an essential tool for future manifestation, participants will compose images that connect present duty to the future realm. During this workshop, Lowery will share several collage techniques and provide insight into his practice while encouraging participants to develop their own methods.

Sign up for the workshopled by Yannick Lowery

Yannick Lowery is an interdisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Inspired by the cultural dynamism of his native New York and present hometown, his work explores the creations of illustrated proverbs, portents, and historical souvenirs to guide the viewer through cultural introspection and responsible, imaginative perpetuation. He parallels archival imagery and his photography to employ world-creation and compile instigative and investigative way-making devices through collage, animation, and sculptural works.

This workshop will be a lightly facilitated exploration of piecework and bead embroidery. Participants will explore a process Khadar has often used in their artwork that draws from techniques rooted in the West African art canon - piecework/flag making and stitched beadwork using contemporary materials that make the process more accessible. Khadar will briefly introduce the techniques in two parts and participants will draft a project to work on for the duration of the workshop. The products can be very open-ended, but some examples or projects are a small bag or pouch, a brooch, a wall hanging, or a quilt square.

Amir Khadar (They/Them) is a Sierra Leonean-American transdisciplinary artist, designer, and educator based in Philadelphia, PA, originally from Minneapolis, MN. Their work has been central in creating visual language in social change movements centered on decolonization, de-carceration, and environmentalism. Amir's commitment to social change is evident through collaborations with justice organizations such as Thousand Currents, ACLU chapters, Initiative Sankofa Afrique D'ouest, Queer Crescent, and Forward Together. Amir's work spans posters, reports, book designs, art installations, exhibitions, and educational projects that envision new ways of being for their communities. They also evoke these themes through textile and digital art techniques, integrating ancestral technology into their creative expression through mixed media quilts, adornments, digital weavings, and soft sculptures.

To tatreez is to find peace in the present while looking forward to the future. In our upcoming workshop, local Palestinian activist, Samar Dahleh will explore the cultural significance of Palestinian embroidery, known as tatreez. Discover the meanings behind common Palestinian symbols and motifs through presentations and hands-on practice. During this time of grieving for the Palestinian community, many have found tatreez to be a way to stay connected to culture through our hands. We will be practicing cross-stitch patterns on traditional Aida clothes and including helpful tips to keep a neat back. There will also be an opportunity to embroider on your own fabric like other clothing or totes using waste canvas! We will be teaching how to attach and remove waste canvas material during this workshop.

Samar Dahleh is a Palestinian activist and creative. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Philosophy and a Master's in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Samar's desire to learn more about her heritage grew out of a need to preserve it for generations to come. She has been taught tatreez from her ancestry and tatreezers across the country, furthering her understanding that this art form is a mechanism of recording history through needle and thread. Samar has practiced alongside some of the most influential tatreezers in the country, only growing her love for the community and art form.