Aileen Mary Stace

Aileen Stace kept the craft of spinning popular by arranging demonstrations and exhibitions, both in her own spinning room and at public venues; the last exhibition she organised and minded took place in 1972.

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Flora MacKenzie

Between 1962 and 1976 Flora MacKenzie appeared in court six times on brothel-keeping charges, and was twice imprisoned for periods of six months.

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Elizabeth Keckley

Born into slavery, Elizabeth Keckley’s story is one of perseverance and ingenuity in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. As an African American businesswoman and philanthropist, Keckley defied stereotypes and redefined what an African American woman could accomplish in the Nineteenth Century.

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Ilse Amalie von Randow

Ilse von Randow would become a central figure in the development of modernist craft weaving in New Zealand. Her hand-woven textiles were quickly taken up by the local avant-garde and in 1952 she was awarded the Esmonde Kohn Prize for excellence in the applied arts by the Auckland Society of Arts.

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Rangimārie Hetet

With the establishment of the Māori Women’s Welfare League in 1951, Rangimārie joined as a founding member. She began teaching traditional Māori weaving to women within the community as well as in schools. She wanted to retain the traditional art form, which at that time was in jeopardy, and the league proved an ideal platform for its revival.

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Sophie Taeuber-Arp

Taeuber-Arp is not as well-known as other artists in her circle, despite her deep involvement with the burgeoning European avant-garde and the presence of her works in museum collections across the world. However, this reputation is changing, as evidenced by the 1981 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York that subsequently traveled to Chicago, Houston, and Montreal. Her work is now generally accepted as part of the story of modernism and Dada, and has drawn increasing attention from scholars and academics. Her work was influential to the growth of Feminist Art of the 1960’s, who viewed her as a trailblazer.

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Anni Albers

Albers made her mark on the Bauhaus, the weaving art form, and the conception of “women’s” crafts with her innovations. Beyond the integration of abstract modernism into textile weavings, Albers also introduced new technologies to the weaving workshop.

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