The below blog posts are written by John Kaufmann.
These opinions do not reflect the views of Saratoga TODAY newspaper.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College invites the public to “Radical Fiber: A Symposium on Art and Science,” to be held online Jan. 28-29. 

The two-day online symposium brings together scholars, artists, and thinkers in academia, business, tech, and the arts on the historical, present, and potential future connections of fiber-based arts and the sciences. Each day includes a curator’s tour, two panel discussions, and a moderated conversation in which all attendees can meet and share ideas inspired by the day. 

The symposium is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Radical Fiber: Threads Connecting Art and Science, which features historical artifacts and contemporary art that demonstrate the ways in which fiber craft techniques and materials have influenced and impacted scientific fields like mathematics, digital technology, medicine, neuroscience, and more. The exhibition opens Jan.29 and runs through June 12.

The exhibition features works that span centuries and are made by artists, scientists, and mathematicians alike. It also features the Saratoga Springs Satellite Reef, a collaborative artwork made up of hundreds of crocheted corals created in the last year by amateur crafters and professional artists from the Capital Region and beyond. The reef installation is one of fifty such satellite reefs created around the world as part of the Crochet Coral Reef project by Christine and Margaret Wertheim and the Institute For Figuring. 

The symposium will be via Zoom and is free and open to the public. Registration is required for each session. A complete schedule and Zoom registration links may be found at: tang.skidmore.edu. 

Note, the symposium was originally scheduled to be in person. The rise in coronavirus cases and travel disruptions have prompted the move online. The public reception that had been scheduled for Jan. 29 has been canceled; however, The museum is slated to have its public reopening Thursday, Feb. 3. and resume weekly hours of Thursdays to Sundays noon to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. All visitors are required to show proof of vaccination and to wear masks. For more information, call the Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080, or go to:tang.skidmore.edu.