LIZ COLLINS
www.lizcollins.com
EDUCATION
1999
1991
Rhode Island School of Design: MFA-Textiles
Rhode Island School of Design: BFA-Textiles
SPECIAL TRAINING & ADDITIONAL COURSES:
2008
RISD Continuing Education: Adobe Photoshop I
Sheridan Center For Teaching and Learning Certificate Program
2007
RISD Continuing Education: Digital Tools for Design
2006
STOLL Germany (manufacturer of high-tech knitting machines), Technical Training
Course in CMS systems operation and M1 software
TEACHING - COLLEGE LEVEL
2003 - current
1999 - 2000
Assistant Professor: Textiles Department, RISD, Providence, RI
Adjunct Faculty: Textiles Department, RISD, Providence, RI
SPECIAL ACADEMIC PROJECTS:
2009
RISD Faculty Teaching Fellow- observer/ assessor of Sheridan Program participants
RISD Textiles/ Zegna Baruffa knitwear design project. Exhibition at Pitti Filati trade show,
Florence, Italy
2008 - 2009
Fabric to Form: RISD Textiles and Apparel Design Collaborative Studio. Funded by a
RISD Academic Enrichment Grant
2007 - 2008
Fabric to Form: RISD Textiles and Apparel Design Collaborative Sponsored Studio with
the Italian Trade Commission. Exhibitions at RISD Museum and Bergdorf Goodman
department store, NYC
2006
RISD Textiles/ DKNY/ Lineapiu knit design project. Exhibition at DKNY Flagship
store, NYC
2005
RISD Textiles/ DKNY/ Italian Trade Commission knit design project. Exhibition at
DKNY Flagship store, NYC
TEACHING - WORKSHOPS
2009
2008
2005
Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles: workshop on knitwear collection development
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts: two-week machine knitting workshop
Cooper Hewitt Design Directions High School Program: workshop on textile and garment
recycling
APPAREL & TEXTILE DESIGN
2009- 2010
2005 - 2008
2005
2004
1999 - current
1994 - 1996
1993
1991 - 1992
1991
Knitwear designer: Peruvian Connection
Knitwear designer: Gary Graham Collection.
Sweater collection, John Bartlett Fall 2005 men’s collection
Scarf and knit jacket collection, James Coviello Fall 2005 women’s ready to wear collection
Sweater collection, QVC Home Shopping Network / Council of Fashion Designers of America
New York Designer Showcase, live television, NYC
Designer & President: Liz Collins collection, independent designer knitwear label.
Collection has been sold at BARNEYS, Kirna Zabete, and other boutiques worldwide.
Designer and Co-proprietor: Planet 7 clothing boutique, Providence, RI
Junior Weave Designer: Westwood Fabrics
Junior Weave Designer: Franetta Fabrics
Intern: Centro Ricerche Mantero under design director Luisa Cevese, Como, Italy
SELECTED SHOWS, EXHIBITIONS and PROJECTS
2009
World of Queercraft: Invitational group show, Craftland Gallery, Providence, RI
Textiles and Tactics: Solo show at Out North Gallery, Anchorage, AK
Product: Invitational group show at International Gallery for Contemporary Art, Anchorage, AK
Veins/ New Work: Solo show at AS220 Project Space, Providence, RI
Queer Craft: Invitational group show, Advocate & Gochis Galleries, Los Angeles, CA
Threads: Invitational group show, Queer Arts Festival, SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
Faculty Biennial: Invitational group show, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
th
2008
A Century of Change: Art and Design from the 20 Century, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
KNITTING NATION PHASE 5: Performance and site-specific installation, RISD by Design @ RISD
Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting: Invitational group show, Scottsdale Museum of Art
Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting: Invitational group show, Indiana State Museum
KNITTING NATION PHASE 4: PRIDE- Performance and site-specific installation, Waterplace Park,
Providence, RI
Vested Interest: Invitational group show, Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
Gestures of Resistance: Invitational group show, Gray Matters Gallery, Dallas, TX
Evolution/ Revolution: The Arts and Crafts in Contemporary Fashion and Textiles, RISD Museum,
Providence, RI
RISCA Fellowship exhibition, Machines With Magnets Gallery, Pawtucket, RI
Shelter: Invitational group show, 516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM
2007
Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting: Invitational group show, Museum of Arts and Design, NYC
The Handmade Goes Digital: video program curated by Sabrina Gschwandtner at Museum of Arts
and Design, NYC
KNITTING NATION MANIFESTO: published in KNITKNIT Volume 7
Faculty Biennial: Invitational group show, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
2006
KNITTING NATION PHASE 3: Performance and site-specific installation, RISD by Design @ RISD
KNITTING NATION PHASE 2: Solo exhibit, sale and performance, Felissimo Design House, NYC
SAFE: Solo Exhibition: Design Lab, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
Merger Glove: Design of 1000 specially designed knit gloves for LTTR, Volume 5.
LTTR is printed and distributed by Printed Matter,Inc., NYC
Faculty Biennial: Invitational group show, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Fall Vernissage: Invitational group show, Dinaburg Fine Arts, NYC
Woven: Invitational group show, Gallery W52nd, NYC
KNITTING NATION: PHASE 1- Knitting During Wartime: performance-based installation at The Muster on
Governors Island, NYC
Trunk Sale, Bellwether Gallery, NYC
Artist Multiple, 300 knit covers for KNITKNIT Volume 4: printed and distributed by Sabrina
Gschwandtner, NYC
Faculty Biennial: Invitational group show, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Liz Collins Spring 2004: Runway presentation, Fashion Week, MAOSpace, NYC
Made in Brooklyn: Invitational group show, Felissimo Design House, NYC
Runway Madness: American Textile History Museum, Lowell, MA
Liz Collins Fall 2003: Runway presentation, Fashion Week, MAOSpace, NYC
Liz Collins Spring 2003: Runway presentation, Fashion Week, MAOSpace, NYC
Liz Collins Fall 2002: Collection presentation, Fashion Week, Paramount Hotel, NYC,
sponsored by Out Magazine.
Liz Collins Spring 2002: Runway presentation, Fashion Week, GENART Alumni show,
Bryant Park, NYC
Liz Collins Fall 2001: Runway presentation, Fashion Week, Lot 61, NYC
Liz Collins Spring 2001: Runway presentation, Fashion Week, Lot 61, NYC
Liz Collins Fall 2000: Runway presentation, Fashion Week, PAPERPROJECT: Bryant Park, NYC
Knit collection, Kenny Scharf/ PUCCI mannequin presentation, PUCCI International, NYC
RISD MFA Alumni Exhibition: Sculpture, Objects, Functional Arts (SOFA) Exhibition, Chicago, Il
Kwangju Bienniale: International Art to Wear Exhibition, Korea. Work purchased for permanent
collection
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
GUEST ARTIST / CRITIC AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2010
2009
2008
(forthcoming) Design and Craft: a History of Convergences and Divergences, conference, Brussels,
Belgium- invited speaker on Fashion and Craft panel
Lecture, Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles
Visiting Scholar @ Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Making Craft Matter: Feminism and Politics in Handmade Art: panel presentation/ discussion with Julia
2007
2006
2005
2003
2002
2001
Bryan Wilson, Cat Mazza, and Sabrina Gschwandtner, BYO Series- Voices of the
Contemporary at the Carpenter Center at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Craft and Politics: American Craft Council Salon Series: Liz Collins and Sabrina Gschwandtner talk with
NY Times Magazine columnist Rob Walker, NYC
In the Loop knitting conference, keynote speaker, Winchester, UK
Lecture and Workshop, Fibers Department, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore,MD
Crafting Protest: panel presentation with Allison Smith, Julia Bryan Wilson, Cat Mazza, and Sabrina
Gschwandtner, Vera List Center for Art and Politics at the New School, NYC
Lecture and critiques, Fibers Department, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Public Art Selection Panel, TF Green Airport, RI
Lecture and Workshop, Fibers Department, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore,MD
Lecture & Panelist for “New Artists/New Work” at the American Craft 2006 Leadership Conference
Gallery talk @ Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
Design for Textiles and Fashion” presentation @ International Textiles Conference, Raleigh, NC
Cooper Hewitt Design Directions High School Program: organized and led Garment District tour of
CFDA designer showrooms and studios, NYC
Visiting Critic for Knitwear Design Course at Fashion Institute of Technology
Lecturer, Fibers Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
Lecturer, Joshibi University, Art College, Tokyo, Japan
HONORS
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2003
2002
2001
2000
1998
1991
RISD Alumni Association Award for Innovation in Education and Scholarly Pursuits
RISD Professional Development Grant x 2
RISD Professional Development Grant
Artist Merit Award, Crafts: Rhode Island State Council of the Arts
Nominee for Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award
RISD Academic Enrichment Fund Grant
United States Artists Target Fellowship in Crafts and Traditional Arts
RISD Professional Development Grant
Guest juror of Providence Art Club showing of contemporary furniture and textiles of Rhode Island
Invitational Designer Workshop: SAGA Furs of Scandinavia, Copenhagen, Denmark
Induction: Council of Fashion Designers of America
Funding recipient of $65,000 grant and equity loan from Slater Center for Design Innovation
Artist Fellowship, Crafts: Rhode Island State Council of the Arts
Design Vision Award, Eveningwear; Finalist, Avant Garde: GenArt Styles 2000
Current Colorist Scholarship: Color Marketing Group
st
Japanese Fashion Foundation International Textile Competition: 1 prize for United States in
constructed fabrics and recipient of IdeaBiella award
RESIDENCIES
2011
2009
2008
2007
(forthcoming) Tilburg Museum- 2 month open R&D residency at the textile lab - Tilburg, NL
Alaska AIR Residency- 1 month of open research, an exhibition, and talks in Alaska
Marga Knitwear: 1 month residency at Marga knitting factory, Lima, Peru
New Works: 4 day residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
Textile Facilitation Unit: one week residency at Shetland College, Lerwick, Scotland
Marga Knitwear: 2 month residency at Marga knitting factory, Lima, Peru
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS:
forthcoming:
Art and Queer Culture:1885-2005 by Catherine Lord and Richard Meyer, Phaidon
in print:
In the Loop: Knitting Now by Jessica Hemmings, Black Dog, 2010
The Craft Reader by Glenn Adamson, Berg, 2010
Designing a Knitwear Collection by Lisa Donofrio Fezza and Marilyn Heffernen. Fairchild, New York, 2008
KnitKnit: Presenting 27 Innovative Knitters and Their Projects by Sabrina Gschwandtner. Stewart, Tabori and
Chang, New York, 2007
Fashioning Fabrics: Contemporary Textiles in Fashion by Sandy Black. Black Dog Publishing, UK, 2006.
The Muster by Allison Smith, Public Art Fund, New York, 2007.
ARTICLES:
Liz Collins Rethinks Knitwear, feature, Surface Design, Summer 2009
Knit New York by Freddie Robins, feature, Textile Forum, March 2008
The Politics of Craft by Julia Bryan Wilson, feature, MODERN PAINTERS, February 2008
Knit in Peril by David Sokol, feature, Metropolis magazine, January 2006
In Fashion, Who Really Gets Ahead? by Eric Wilson, New York Times, November, 2005
The Subtle Power of Lesbian Style by Guy Trebay, New York Times, June 2003
Additional publications and media features include NPR, Full Frontal Fashion, New York One, Global Style
Network, W, VOGUE, BAZAAR, Fiberarts, Newsweek, TIME, INStyle, WWD, DETOUR, FLAUNT, JANE, GAP
Collections, surface, Curve, PAPER, NY Post, The OBSERVER, INTERVIEW, FRIEZE, www.artforum.com,
www.style.com and many others.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Council of Fashion Designers of America