Although we will not officially reopen the TRC to the public until Monday, the 4h May, we are already welcoming individuals and groups visitors at our new premises at Boerhaavelaan 6, as well as starting a busy programme of workshops, study days and lectures. And of course there was the recent book presentation with the Mayor of Leiden.
Taiwanese delegation visiting the TRC, with Gillian Vogelsang in their midst. They are standing in the garden of Boerhaavelaan 6. In the background is the garden pavilion.
Today, for example, we had a group from Taiwan visiting the TRC. In particular there was Yuma Taru, an indigenous hand-weaver, dyer and embroiderer, and director of the Lihang Studio, and her daughter Lugna. They came together with Arwen Yang and Pascal van der Graaf of the Bug 2 Gallery, Tainan, Taiwan, and Cha-Hsuan Liu. Some years ago Yuma Taru gave a workshop at the TRC’s old premises on the Hogewoerd in Leiden, and on that occasion she donated a backstrap loom. While at the TRC this morning, she helped to straighten the warp threads of the loom and she re-rolled it for us.
Yuma Taru and her group also came to the Netherlands in order to participate in Art Rotterdam, but this morning at the TRC we discussed how we can work together on recording Taiwanese indigenous textiles in general, and Taiwanese embroidery in particular. As you may know, the TRC is writing a series of encyclopedias about the history of embroidery (Bloomsbury Publishers, London).
Yuma Taru and her daughter adjusting the backstrap loom that they donated to the TRC in 2013.
Four volumes have already been published, and we are currently researching volume 5, which is about East Asian embroidery. It will include several chapters about embroidery from Taiwan. Yuma Taru has very kindly agreed to help with collecting suitable samples, providing information, and working together on the idea of an exhibition about Taiwanese indigenous embroidery at the TRC in Leiden.
We also went into the garden of Boerhaavelaan 6 and discussed the idea of a textile garden and the need for suitable plants, how they are going to be used and how to organise local participation in the garden.
The Taiwanese delegation discussing further cooperation with TRC staff.We also talked about the proposed TRC Annex, to be constructed in the old carport next to the house itself, where the TRC collection of over 53,000 objects will be stored.
We now have the necessary official permissions to build the annex, and we are working on a fund raising campaign to raise the necessary funding. It will not be cheap, but it will make such a difference to our short, medium and indeed long term plans at the TRC. More about this will be shortly published in a separate TRC Blog. One of our Taiwanese visitors made a short video about the planned annex and is going to see whether anyone in her network would be willing to help!
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Director TRC, 31 March 2026.
