The Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts
Detail of artwork by Xander Griffith
Developed by Curator of Education at Maryhill Museum of Art, Louise Palermo, The Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts features 13 regional fiber artists (listed below on this page) working with communities along 220 miles of the Columbia River from the Willamette Confluence to the Snake River Confluence.
Artistic Director for the project is artist Tammy Jo Wilson.
Each artist will design an original artwork collaborating with a Community Partner and community members from their assigned stretch of river. Artists will create unique installations, sculpture, and innovative designs attached to that specific site, and engage with educational opportunities to inspire and educate about fiber arts. There will be resources developed, including maps and guides to encourage visitation to each site. Each artwork will portray a section of the river itself and will connect to the next section.
The project is inspired by the Surrealist art practice “Exquisite Corpse,” where participants took turns drawing sections of a body on a piece of paper folded to hide each successive contribution. When unfolded, a whole body was revealed to show each contribution.
In the case of The Exquisite Gorge Project II, the Columbia River will become the “body” that unifies the collaboration between artists and communities, revealing a flowing 66-foot work that tells 10 conceptual stories (plus a frontispiece) of the Columbia River and its people.
A culminating Festival of Fiber Arts was held Saturday, August 6, 2022 at Maryhill Museum of Art, free-standing “exquisite corpse” section was brought together to reveal the continuous sculpture.
Download a MAP of installations that happened this summer!
Visit the original Exquisite Gorge Project, held in 2019 and featuring printmakers.
Watch the Summer 2022 event
Learn more about the Exquisite Gorge Project II, a collaborative event led by Maryhill Museum of Art during the summer of 2022. The project featured artists working with communities along a 220-mile stretch of the Columbia River to create a fiber arts sculpture on on the grounds of Maryhill Museum of Art on Saturday, August , 2022.
View and download the map of installations happening this summer!
Exquisite Gorge Events
august 2022
july 2022
may 2022
april 2022
november 2021
In the News
- In her section of Maryhill Museum’s collaborative Columbia River art project, Carolyn Hazel Drake explores a world of transitions. Read more on Oregon Arts Watch.
- Columbia Gorge fiber artist Chloë Hight leads a biological exploration of the river system and the plants that thrive there, giving art and life. Read more on Oregon Arts Watch.
- Read about the museum’s yarn-bombing, and the parade of poppies that bringing light and remembrance to Stonehenge.
- Fabric artist Amanda Triplett and her team learn the science of the Columbia River Basin and transform it into the language of art on Oregon Arts Watch.
- Married artists Tammy Jo Wilson and Owen Premore bring a collaboration of diverse approaches to the Exquisite Gorge Project II on Oregon Arts Watch.
- ArtWalla and Kristy Kún talk about her section of the Exquisite Gorge Project II. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xlKMdK5vdo
- Lynn Deal talks with Friderike Heuer on Oregon Arts Watch.
- Friderike Heuer visits Kristy Kún, whose fantastic felt forms suggest something mythological, in Exquisite Gorge II: Ariadne’s Thread on Oregon Arts Watch.
- An interview with Ophir El-Boher on Oregon Arts Watch, gives a preview of her collaboration with Desert Fiber Arts: Exquisite Gorge II: Of Harm and Healing
- Friderike Heuer talks with Xander Griffith in Exquisite Gorge II: Felt Worlds on Oregon Arts Watch.
- Exquisite Gorge II: Pattern Masters and Master Patterns for Oregon Arts Watch.
- Friderike Heuer previews the Exquisite Gorge II Project: Fiber Arts, in “It Begins with Sheep” for Oregon Arts Watch.
- A great interview with Kristy Kún, an Oregon-based fiber artist participating The Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts.
PARTNERS:
In addition to the participating artists, there are many partner organizations and sponsors who make The Exquisite Gorge Project II possible.
Section One: Oregon Society of Artists–Artist: Lynn Deal
Section Two: Lewis and Clark University–Artist: Amanda Triplett
Section Three: Columbia Center for the Arts, The History Museum of Hood River County and Arts in Education of the Gorge–Artist: Chloë Hight
Section Four: White Salmon Arts Council and Fort Vancouver Regional Library–Artist: Xavier Griffith
Section Five: Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, The Dalles-Wasco County Library, and The Dalles Arts Center –Artists: Francisco and Laura Bautista
Section Six: The Fort Vancouver Regional Library at Goldendale Community Library–Artist: Carolyn Hazel Drake
Section Seven: The American-Romanian Cultural Society and Maryhill Museum of Art–Artist: Magda Nica
Section Eight: Desert Fiber Arts & REACH Museum–Artist: Ophir El-Boher
Section Nine: The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation–Artist: Bonnie Meltzer
Section Ten: ArtWalla–Artist: Kristy Kún
Frontispiece: Tammy Jo Wilson and Owen Premore
SPONSORS:
Major Support from: National Endowment for the Arts, Roundhouse Foundation; Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation’s Community Grants; The Salvador Fund of the Gorge Community Foundation; Columbia Fiber Arts Guild; and Umpqua Bank, Goldendale Branch.
This project could not happen without the additional support of services and goods from a number of people and organizations, including the following: Anonymous, M & P Ranch, Northwest Regional Spinners Association, Premier Metal, Olympic Yarn and Fiber, and StoryGorge. Additional thanks go to all our community partners and artists.
To support this great project, contact Colleen Schafroth 509 773-3733 x 23 or email development@
Participating Artists
Blog
Latest News
Exquisite Community
During the isolation of the past few years, Maryhill Museum of Art has been working diligently to knit together 13 fiber artists and 15 communities along the Columbia River into a beautiful fabric of community! At the same time, knit and crochet artists from over 41...
Community and Beauty from Unexpected Places: A Yarn about Yarnbombing
The Poppy Project Yarn Bomb at Stonehenge Memorial overlooking the Columbia River is a perfect example of the spirit of a yarn bomb – it seems out of place, it provokes dialogue and is an opportunity to learn.
Festival of Fiber Art at Maryhill Museum of Art
Explore fiber art in all its fabulous forms at Maryhill Museum of Art’s Festival of Fiber Arts on Saturday, August 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Festival of Fiber Arts is the culminating event of the community-based art project, The Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts.