In conversation with Diane Wright, now Senior Curator of Glass and Contemporary Craft at the Toledo Museum of Art, we learned that as a result of an AIDA Curator Trip to Israel some years ago, she encouraged one of the Museum’s support groups to acquire a fabulous weaving by Aleksandra (Sasha) Stoyanov for the Museum’s Permanent Collection. This is what we mean when we talk about giving the unexpected a chance to happen.
Aleksandra Stoyanov (Ukrainian, active Israel, born 1957), Silence. Wool, sisal, silk, cotton, 2006.
The colors found in the landscape of northern Israel inspire the woven tapestry work of Aleksandra (Sasha) Stoyanov, who immigrated there in 1990. She finds the muted palette of gray, brown, black, yellow, green and blue to be far more expressive than brighter alternatives. 

Stoyanov is part of an international movement of fiber arts that has flourished in the second half of the 20th century. Her work often incorporates imagery from the home she left behind in Ukraine, taking on a deeply emotional quality that focuses on the social dilemmas experienced by immigrants, the loss of family, and disconnection. In Silence, she creates a space about personal memories as well as the joining of individual experiences to form collective memory. The empty table is replete with remembrances of the past, but also bursting with the possibility for future gathering, working, conversation.  

Stoyanov makes her own threads before beginning the weaving process. She washes then cards the wool, spins the yarn on a foot-powered spinning wheel, and, finally, dyes the yarn in large batches to her preferred neutral shades. 

To date, AIDA's Curator Program has brought 14 educators and museum directors to Israel, where we introduced them to the culture, history and politics of the region while visiting local Israeli artists, curators, and collectors. Past participants have included:

Jennifer Komar Olivarez

Diane Wright

Sarah Shleuning

Mel Buchanan

Marisa J Pascucci

Elizabeth Agro

Matilda McQuaid

Cindi Strauss

Emily Zilber

Stefano Catalani

Jutta Page

Annie Carlano

Susan Braunstein

Ulysses Dietz
We look forward to continuing this meaningful program in 2022!