Weaving History: A Basket Heritage Project

PICTURED: Winter Moon #2, Connie & Tom McColley, 1997, Chloe, West Virginia.
Natural and dyed white oak, cherry, rhododendron.
Collection of MSUM Acc# 2002:27.12.
Photo by Rummel Photographic Studio.

Installation at Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI. A smaller version of the exhibition shown here is available to travel. Photo by Pat Power.

This exhibition has been displayed at the Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI.

This exhibit showcases 70 examples of contemporary baskets, using a variety of materials and techniques, which have become part of the museum's permanent collections through a gift from the Association of Michigan Basketmakers (AMB). The baskets range from finely made functional pieces to creative works of art. The exhibit features baskets made in a variety of techniques and materials- cultivated and natural- including antlers, birch bark, black ash, cattail, copper, flax, grape vine, porcupine quill, spruce root, strapping tape, sweet grass, wax linen and willow fibers. Although many of the exhibit's pieces are by weavers from Michigan and the Great Lakes region, other baskets come from Georgia, Connecticut and Washington, among other places.

"Weaving History" is the result of a long partnership between the Association of Michigan Basketmakers and the MSU Museum. In 1995, the AMB began the "Great Lakes Heritage Baskets Project" to record its own history and leave a legacy for future generations, collecting baskets from and recording interviews with weaving teachers and others who have been influential in continuing the basketmaking traditions of their region. The association also assembled a collection of samples of weaving materials and tools, photographs, catalogs and records of their annual conventions, and related ephemera. The project has become a model for documenting the history of other craft-related organizations and guilds.

Rental fee (plus shipping):	$4,000, (4-week period) $5,000, (8-week period) $7,000, (12-week period)
Number of pieces:	70 Includes 10 free-standing vitrines, 2 ladder vitrines, and 1 wall-hanging case, plus exhibition signage
Running feet required:	1,200 -1,600 square feet
Insurance Value:	TBD
Security requirement:	Lockable, limited access display area; provisions to prevent the public from touching objects; object handling by museum professionals; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances
Additional materials available:	Accompanying publication for resale; press materials.

Weaving History Object List/Labels (pdf)

Weaving History Graphics Lists (pdf)

Vitrine Specifications (pdf)

Sample News Release (pdf)

To purchase the publication, Weaving History and other merchandise from the Michigan Traditional Arts Program Store, Click Here.

This traveling exhibition is a Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Traditional Arts Program activity supported by Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, and Association of Michigan Basketmakers.

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This is an activity supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs