How does the community that builds us into who we are impact how we create? How can we hold the people we cherish close to us in times like these - and what does it mean to find connections in art and textile language? In this episode of Material Culture, we explore these questions and more with weaver and artrepreneur Shenequa Brooks. She shares with us about her Carribean-American heritage and how it's influenced her work, as well as her time in Ghana and how practices there impact her weaving and life now. Topics discussed include: the bond of sisterhood formed through braiding, breaking generational curses, functionality of textiles to commemorate community, and finding the strength to not always need to be strong.
You can find more of Shenequa's work at her website at shenequaabrooks.com, or her Instagram @she_ne_qua - you can also catch her work featured later this year in the book Yarn, Thread and String of Uppercase Magazine.
The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. Material Culture is produced by the yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school, Weaver House. If you have a question, comment or other feedback - you can leave a message for the podcast at weaverhouseco.com/podcast.
This week's episode is also sponsored by Silver Spun Goods, a woman-owned American sock brand that produces socks spun with pure silver. You can find them online at silverspungoods.com, and for a limited time enter code MaterialCulture for 20% off your order.
Thanks to Philadelphia-based musician Michael Myers for the use of his song, Weave off the album This is Only Light.