Centre Nationale d'Exposition a Jonquieres, Quebec Canada

10th Anniversary of Fate, Destiny, and Self Determination

Exhibition: April 7, 2024 to June 23, 2024 at the Centre National D'Expostion

Here is the team that set up the Fate, Destiny and Self Determination installation at the Centre National D'Exposition in Jonquieres Quebec. From left to right: Rejean Arsenault, Line Dufour, Manon Guerin, Serge Lapierre, and Valerie Dufour. 

L'equipe qui a poser l'installation Le Sort, le Destin et L'Autodetermination.

Happy that the installation didn't take us as long to set up as we thought despite being only three people to do the labour. 

A larger view of the exhibition space and the installation. Wasn't able to capture the entire installation in one shot without having too much distortion. Go to the YouTube page where you can see videos of the installation being set up. 

One side of an entire wall of the exhibition.

The other side of the room.

more details of the individual submissions

Below: getting more up close and personal so that participants and viewers alike can see the submissions in more detail.

The fate project is an enthralling tactile experience and synthesis of colour and texture, combining principles of of contrast, unity and variety. Its made even more dynamic when what would traditionally be a flat canvas of coloured 'pixels' become three dimensional in both form and in the way it occupies the space it is in. The pixelated effect of the placement of the work suggests transformation or a state of controlled chaos adding to its strong sense of movement. 

The themes of the installation are conveyed by the relationship between the large, cohesive panels and individual cell-like pieces, suggesting a deconstruction or fragmentation, but paradoxically, a migration of elements coming together to form a whole or the stitching together to form a cohesive entity. The dispersion of a diversity of pieces created by a variety of techniques either taken directly from textiles or alluding to them, adds a dynamic dimension to the installation. Add to this the narrative element that attends each of the submissions, makes it even a more powerful experience. 

 

Fabrica-Museo La Encartada, BALMASEDA SPAIN

Fate, Destiny and Self Determination at Fabrica-Museo La Encartada,  

Barrio El Peñueco, 11. 48800. 

BALMASEDA SPAIN 

April 29 2023 to October 1 2023

The site of La Encartada was established as a business in 1892. Besides housing a beautiful gallery space, La Encartada had previously processed wool and manufactured mostly berets, but also blankets, gloves, scarves as well as skeins of yarn. The museum has several rooms that you can visit, featuring industrial machinery used until its closure in 1992. Other rooms in the building are also on display in the style of the period. The grounds are perfect for a relaxing stroll where nearby you'll discover the residential area for factory workers, some of which you can visit.

572 people from 43 countries have contributed 965 pieces to the Fate, Destiny and Self Determination Installation. 

Thank you to the donors who made it possible to send the exhibition to Spain. Any additional monies not required will be put towards its next exhibition.

Thank you to Lala de Dios, Asociación de Creación Textil and Fábrica-Museo La Encartada for mounting the installation. To see a list of all participants, go to my web page for the project https://www.linedufour.com/fate-destiny-self-determination  . Visit the Facebook and Instagram page for the project to see individual submissions. On these pages you will also see other exhibitions that have been held around the world. 

For the close up pictures of the installation in situ, thanks also go to Lou Andreas, a tapestry weaver who participated in the project and who also attended the opening reception. 

Making a submission to the Fate, Destiny and Self Determination Installation

Fate, Destiny and Self Determination [] Le Sort, Destin, et l’auto-determination [] Suerte, Destino y Auto-determinación [] Los, Przeznaczenie i Wola [] Das Schicksal, das Geschick und das Selbstbestimmungsrecht [] 운명, 숙명 그리고 자기가 결정한 팔자. 팔자  []  Usud, sudbina i samoodređenje [] Sorte,Destino,Auto Determinação [] Öde, mål och självbestämmande [] Fato, Destino e Autodeterminazione

The development of the COVID-19 has made all of us more aware of the impact of isolation on our well being. This sense of isolation forms the underpinnings of this installation launched in 2016.  Fate, Destiny and Self Determination was created as an initiative to reduce the isolation artists experienced in their artistic process through the use of social media, planned hands-on events and gathering them together to exhibit their collective efforts. Inclusiveness is the weft that weaves the installation together.

Fate, Destiny and Self-Determination is composed of three sections. The main tapestry woven panel (on the left) was created by Line Dufour, referencing the contemporary practice of tapestry  where artist and weaver are one. The second panel on the right, was woven by visiting participants ranging from the inexperienced and amateur to the professional. This referenced traditional tapestry conventions in that many weavers work(ed) on the tapestry at the same time or at various stages and did not contribute to creating the tapestry designs. 

Each time Fate, Destiny and Self-Determination is installed the shapes are never placed in the same positions, making it  interactive and spontaneous, and permits the curator(s) to be part of its creation. Conversely, the curator could also invite the gallery guest to position shapes on the wall between the two panels, having them re-create the installation.

The installation has been exhibited at 

·       Craft Ontario in Toronto, Canada 

·       The Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

·       The Doyle and Margaret Hartman Gallery, Regis University, Denver, Colorado USA

·       Craft Council of British Columbia, Canada 

·       The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles as part of the American Tapestry Alliance Biennial 11  

·       Guan Shan Yue Art Museum, Shenzen, China. 9^th From Lausanne To Beijing 

·       The Centre D’Action Culturelle de la MLC de Papineau in Québec 

·       World Textile Art Biennial at the Fundacion Pablo Achtugarry in Punta del Este Uruguay 

·       World of Threads, Oakville, Ontario, Canada

·       Rosccommon County Council, Roscommon Ireland

·       Tuchmacher Museum, Bramsche, Germany

·       Tuch & Technik Textilmuseum, Neumunster, Germany

Anyone who wishes to do so, can create a shape using a textile/fibre related technique (tapestry, rug, weaving, felt, basketry, etc) with whatever  fibre they like or one that references textiles. Any hue from the colour wheel is suggested. You can use more than one colour. There is no minimum or maximum size, but the average size is 10cm (4”) . There is no maximum on the number of pieces you can submit. A person can also weave (create) a shape of their country, state or province or any shape except not a square or rectangle.  You can look at the Facebook page for the project to see how other people have created their shapes. www.facebook.com/pages/Fate-Destiny-and-Self-Determination-An-international-tapestry-project/ or go to the Instagram page @tapestryline . You are welcome to invite your textile friends to participate in making a submission. Please include your website or other social media pages, as well as any comments about the project or your inspiration if you would like me to share it on social media. 

When you are ready to send your submission to me, email me at linedufour.tapestry@gmail.com and I will send you the mailing address. 

Once you have made a submission to the installation, it remains the permanent property of the installation and will not be returned. 

Update

                 

The exciting tapestry event, Project BaaBaa scheduled for May 2020 in Galway Ireland, has been postponed to May 2021. The exact dates will be determined later. To refresh your memory,  three tapestry workshops are being offered by five tapestry artists...four from the UK - Joan Baxter, John Brennan & Elizabeth Radcliffe, and Clare Coyle will be assisting me the workshop I'll be offering. The exhibitions will feature dozens of tapestry weavers from around the world: France, Australia, Ireland, Scotland to name a few. I am hoping I will see many of you there. If you have any questions contact projectbaabaa@gmail.com.

507 people from forty-two countries have contributed 842 shapes to the installation to date. The installation continues to accept submissions on an ongoing basis. Various materials and techniques have been used to create these forms – tapestry, crochet, knitting, lace, felt, paper, basketry, embroidery, quilting and various other textile construction methods. Each piece is presented on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the person’s name and any other information they would like me to include, such as their website, or thoughts they have about the project. Alternatively, they sometimes talk about what’s going on in their lives. If you've already made a submission, please check to make sure your name has been recorded on the web page for the project

Donna Kim, Aruna Reddy, and Agota Dolinay

Fate, Destiny and Self Determination (aka FDSD) was first launched at the end of 2013. To date, the installation has been exhibited in the following galleries, museums and sites: Craft Ontario in Toronto, Canada; the Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, Galerie Trames, Canada: Regis University in Denver, Colorado, USA; the Craft Council of British Columbia, Canada (March 2016); China (From Beijing to Lausanne 2016) and at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles as part of the American Tapestry Alliance Biennial 11 (2017); at the Centre D’Action Culturelle de la MLC de Papineau in Quebec, Canada (2017); World Textile Art Biennial in Uruguay (2017); World of Threads in Oakville, Ontario, Canada (2016); the Roscommon County Council in Roscommon Ireland (2018);  the Tuchmacher Museum in Bramsche and the  Tuch + Technik Textilmuseum in Neumunster, both in Germany (2018). The installation continues to accept invitations to exhibit it. If there is a gallery or museum in your area please let me know.

The following magazines, some hard copy, others online, have featured the installation. Just recently, Dorothe Swinkels in the Netherlands wrote an article for Textiel Plus, an online magazine  which you can access here Textiel Plus. Articles have also appeared in Artapestry 4 and 5; FiberArtNow; British Tapestry Group’s Tapestry Weaver; HandEye Magazine; Rapporter, a Danish magazine; Fibre Focus in Ontario, Canada ; American Tapestry Alliance; Canadian Tapestry Network and Trameros, in Argentina.

Debbie Harris, Sandi Dunn, Darlene Haywood, Jutta Polomski and Patti Wibe

There are many people to thank for all these amazing opportunities without whom none of this great list of accomplishments would have happened. I would like to name a few of them here:  Agotha Dolinay, Susan Middleton, Janna Hiemstra, Aruna Reddy, Emma Jo Webster, Louise Lemieux Berube, Suzanne Chabot, Aneesha Parrone, Barbara Heller, Monique Lehman, Krystyna Sadej, Joe Lewis, Kelly Liang, Deborah Corsini, Nancy Bavor, Patricia Jordan, Rebecca Mezoff, the American Tapestry Alliance, Thoma Ewen, Emilie Laverdiere, Catherine Lacroix, Pilar Tobon, Maria Ortega, Gabriela Nirino, Frances Crowe, Christa Weitbrecht, Gracia Cutuli, Ulrikka Mokdad, Astrid Frevert  and Anet Brusgaard. Not to mention all the people that helped with installation…..dozens of people in each place who did it voluntarily. Many people contributed to the GoFundMe campaign without which the installation would not have been able to go to China and Uruguay. Forgive me if your name does not appear here but know that we all owe you a debt of gratitude for what has been, and hopefully will continue to be, a great textile art adventure! 

Louise Lemieux Berube