SILKNOW & SPAIN - LECTURE SERIES

Three distinguished scholars explore the visual and material heritage related to the development of silk in Spain, starting with the pioneering production of silk in medieval Iberia to the new uses and meanings of silk in contemporary society. The lectures are hosted by the Zurbarán Centre at Durham University and organised in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes, the University of Leeds, the Universidad de Valencia and the member institutions of the European SILKNOW research project.

The lectures will be delivered live on zoom, each will last ca. 35 minutes and be followed by a brief presentation of the digital tools developed by SILKNOW.

The lecture series is free and open to anyone interested in European silk heritage.

Register for the lectures here

Friday, 7 May at 6:00 PM : Dr Maria J. Feliciano, Staging Medieval Silk in Iberia: Treasure, Ritual, and Ornament.

Speaker’s details: Dr María J. Feliciano is an independent scholar based in New York City. She specializes in the visual culture of the late medieval and early modern Iberian worlds. She has published extensively on the influence of the arts of Islam in the artistic developments of Peninsular and Viceregal societies. She is the director of the Medieval Textiles in Iberian and the Mediterranean Research Project and a member of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion in the Americas (Yale University) and The Medieval Iberian Treasury in Context (CSIC), among other research groups

Dr Feliciano’s lecture will be followed by a brief demo of the digital tools developed by the SILKNOW research project, in connection with the subject of the lecture. The presenter will be Jorge Sebastián, Professor of Art History at the Universitat de València.

Friday, 14 May at 6:00 PM: Dr Ana Cabrera, Revisiting Sericulture and Silk Production in the Kingdoms of Spain, circa 1300-1700: local and global networks

Speaker’s details: Dr Ana Cabrera is Director of the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España since 2020. Previously she was curator of historical fashion at the Museo del Traje in Madrid (2018-2020), Marie S.-Curie Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2016-2018), and curator at the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Madrid (2002-2016). She has curated the exhibiton Alfombras y tejidos del Museo de La Alhambra in Granada in 1997 and Extra, Moda. El nacimiento de la prensa de moda en España with Maria Prega at the Museo del Traje. She is the author of four books, several book chapters and articles about museum documentation, the history of the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas, and historical textiles.

Dr Cabrera’s lecture will be followed by a brief demo of the digital tools developed by the SILKNOW research project, in connection with the subject of the lecture. The presenter will be Mar Gaitán, Research Technician, Universitat de València.　

Monday, 17 May at 6:00 PM: Professor Cris Carr: "Silk in contemporary society, beyond its ornamental use"

Speaker’s details: Cris Carr is Professor in Textile Technology at the University of Leeds, with a key focus on Healthcare Textiles, and he was Head of the School of Design until September 2020. He has published widely through research publications and conference presentations and is a member of several Editorial Boards for international research journals. In 2015 he was awarded the Society of Dyers and Colourists Gold Medal for his outstanding contribution to Textile & Colour Education and is currently a Trustee on the Society of Dyers and Colourists.

Professor Carr’s lecture will be followed by a brief demo of the digital tools developed by the SILKNOW research project, in connection with the subject of the lecture. The presenter will be Cristina Portalés, Ramón y Cajal researcher, University of Valencia.

Research Seminar Series organised by the Zurbarán Centre with ARTES Iberian & Visual Culture Group

This live online seminar series provides an open forum for engaging with new and cutting-edge research on diverse topics in Iberian and Latin American art and visual culture.

The weekly sessions usually take place on Wednesdays, 6.00-7.00pm, except the fourth session scheduled for Tuesday, 2 February. The talks last ca. 40 minutes and are followed by Q&A.

The series is free and open to all with an interest in the visual arts. Booking is essential. Please email the Zurbarán Centre (Zurbaran.centre@durham.ac.uk) to register and to receive a zoom link. Please note registration closes 24 hours before the seminar.

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