SOIL SHROUD ROOM at Swale House, Governors Island, NYC
Launching May 16 at 1pm EDT
Nolan Park, Building 6b
Through October 25, 2026
The Soil Shroud Room, presented by ecoartspace, brings together textiles previously submerged in soils from around the world as an artistic expression of the minerals and microorganisms that connect us with ancestral lands. Since 2023, over thirty artists have participated in the online Soil Dialogues, where the concept of burying and transforming textiles was simultaneously initiated in England, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Oman, Canada, Australia and the US.
This summer, visitors to Swale House are invited to contribute to this international collaborative work, to bury, clean, paint, print, embroider, and stitch together soil textiles into an ever-growing collective shroud.
On view within the space in various stages of progress, textiles will hang from clotheslines. These soil expressions will be sewn together during monthly programs. If you would like to participate, we invite you to bury a textile in the nearby garden on Governors Island or in your backyard.
We will be holding monthly Zoom events where you can receive instructions if you would like to participate from afar (email [email protected]).
Saturday, May 16, 1-2pm
Patricia Watts will give a public introduction to the Soil Shroud Room outlining the events and outcomes leading up to this installation, and review historical soil artists as she has written about in the recent ecoartspace publication Soils Turn
Saturday, June 20, 2-4pm
Lauren Alyssa Bierly and Melinda K. Santiago, learn the textile burial process and how to clean exhumed textiles
Saturday, July 11, 2-3pm
From Assembling to Witnessing talk with Dr. Alexandra R. Toland, exploring different practices of making work with and about soils as featured in the book Soils Turn, with Pamela Casper who will describe her soil textile process
More programs listed below in comments
#swalehouse #soilshroudroom #ecoartspace2026 #soildialogues #soilsturn #governorsisland #NYC
5 months agoecoartspace
More info on GI here: https://www.govisland.com/things-to-do/ongoing-programs/swale
5 months agoecoartspace
Artists who have contributed to date: Alexandra Toland, Allie Horick, Andrea Bersaglieri (image above), Anne Yoncha, Annette Nykiel, Ashton Phillips, Cassandra Tytler, Christopher Lin, Cindy Stockton Moore, Deanna Pindell, Erin Wiersma, Evgenia Emets, Grace Grothaus, Helen Elizabeth, Jill Price, Jo Pearl, Jwan Ibbini, Kathryn Maguire, Kim Norton, Kim V. Goldsmith, Lauren Bon + Metabolic Studio, Maru Garcia, Pamela Casper, Priscilla Stadler, Renata Buziak, Rhonda Janke, Ruth Wallen, Samantha Passaniti, Saskia Jorda, Stephanie Garon, Susana Soares Pinto, Valerie Constantino add your name here
5 months agoecoartspace
Friday, July 24, Noon “What Resurfaces: Decomposition, Art, and the Ethics of Becoming Soil,” is a reading on decomposition by Maria Patrica Tinajero, along with textile burials Friday, July 31, 5-7:30pm Threading the Line sewing session with Saskia Jorda, an evening of stitching and connecting, through soils, cloth and thread Friday, August 7, 6-8pm Textile Burial and Crip Stitch Sewing Workshop with Marina Heron Tsaplina, leave visible scars on cloth to honor disabled soils harmed by industrial extraction Saturday, August 8, 2-4pm Animated Soil Workshop with Cindy Stockton Moore, explore underground motion through hands-on animation techniques Saturday, September 19, 12:30-3pm Gathering Stitches with Priscilla Stadler, come celebrate and help connect textile pieces buried and collected from earth’s diverse ecosystems
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