Braided Histories – A Journey to Rediscover Hairwork

Hairwork jewelry and art are now rare, but it’s their power as both a personal momento and fine craft continues to provoke interest and passionate opinions. Few are aware that a historic center of hairwork was a small village in Dalarna, Sweden and that the work was an economically powerful option for many rural women to create lives filled with business and travel. Karen Keenan, a descendent of hairworkers in Våmhus, spent recent years rediscovering, studying, and teaching the cultural history and practice of this almost lost folk art. Join Karen for an evening lecture to learn more about this unique craft and her travels to Sweden to study it during a 2018 and 2024 American Scandinavian Foundation fellowship.

Registrants may also be interested in the Introduction to Hairwork Gimping workshop the following day