Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

The Gloria F. Ross Center was a private, non-profit research institute and educational foundation, established in 1997 and closed in 2012, following many celebratory events surrounding the publication and distribution of the major book, Gloria F. Ross & Modern Tapestry (Yale University Press) by director Ann Lane Hedlund. While active, the GFR Center served as a “private operating foundation” under the IRS code, section 501(c)(3), and was incorporated in New York and Arizona. Our support derived from grants and gifts from private foundations, public funders and individual donors, our Associates Program members, and in-kind contributions from volunteers and collaborative organizations. The Tapestry Center’s residual activities (including operation of this website) transferred to the Gloria F. Ross Tapestry Program within the Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona.

Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Fourth graders visiting Prof. Gayle Wimmer's UA studioMission

The mission of the GFR Center was to foster the creative practice and cultural study of tapestry. To accomplish our goals, we

  • Organized and supported artistic, historical, and cultural research and public programs, bringing together artists, weavers, scholars, and collectors to share their varied perspectives.
  • Conducted active interdisciplinary research.
  • Organized lectures, exhibits, publications, workshops, and other educational events.
  • Honored scholarly excellence in research, publication, exhibition, and teaching.
  • Collaborated with museums and other organizations with related goals.

Volunteer with 4th graders at UA weaving studio

Administration & Staff

Board members at Minnesota Textile Center

The Board of Trustees, now dissolved, provided guidance to the GFR Center and included dedicated professionals involved in the tapestry world and other pursuits, including academic, business, and museum realms. Board members, who numbered from five to eight individuals, served three-year renewable terms, on a voluntary basis. Dr. Ann Lane Hedlund, an anthropologist and textile specialist, directed the GFR Center. Ms. Bobbie Gibel served as the Tapestry Center’s Administrative Assistant. The Center hired work-study students and provided volunteer opportunities to community members and interns.

Board members at Minnesota Textile Center

Facilities and Resources

The GFR Center’s offices were located in the Arizona State Museum on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. We maintained a specialized, non-circulating library of tapestry-related books, periodicals, and ephemera, as well as growing artists’ files and photograph, videotape and audiotape collections. The Gloria F. Ross Papers include records of more than three decades of tapestry making by Gloria F. Ross and her associates. The GFR Center neither collected nor owned tapestries; we served as a research and educational foundation.

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