The 2023 symposium took place in Ōamaru, Friday 5 May – Sunday 7 May 2023, with a theme of Tradition.
This is a special year, as we celebrate 21 years of the organisation’s existence. Our annual symposium is at the heart of what we do; for around 20 years, members and friends have gathered in locations throughout Aotearoa New Zealand to share their ideas and passion. It’s a welcoming, informal weekend of wide-ranging presentations and conversations.
The keynote speaker was Dr Patricia Te Arapo Wallace (Ngāti Porou), a longstanding member of CTANZ, who specialises in Māori traditional textiles. Other presentations included a runthrough of CTANZ history by our co-presidents, Dr Natalie Smith and Dr Stella Lange, and Dr Catherine Smith on Te Ra, one of the oldest surviving Polynesian sails. Other papers explored local dress histories, cherished institutional textile objects, medical attire, and rites of passage – weddings and the debutante ball. The symposium was accompanied by an exhibition at the Waitaki Museum of textile works by CTANZ members.
Effusive thanks to Chloe Searle and Sue McLean and their team for their work on the symposium, which kept the more than 80 attendees buzzing and smiling throughout the weekend.