BIO

Anke Fox has been working as the technician in the Textiles Department at NSCAD since 1992. She oversees the weaving and dye and print studios and maintains a broad range of textile equipment. Her responsibilities also include the instruction of health and safety precautions, the ordering of equipment and supplies and the hiring and supervision of student assistants.

Anke began her career as a weaver in 1986 in a small studio on Granville Island in Vancouver, where she apprenticed with silk ikat weaver Diana Sanderson. From 1988 to 1990 she studied textiles at Capilano College in North Vancouver to further her education in weave structures. Two semesters in the Fibre Department at Concordia University in Montreal introduced her to a more conceptual approach to working in textiles. Anke finished her textile studies in 1992 with a Major in Textiles and a Minor in Art History at NSCAD University in Halifax.
From 2004 to 2009 Anke co-owned ‘Armstrong Fox Textiles’ a successful textile design company that designed and manufactured innovative fashion accessories and textile products for the interior and furnishings market. In 2006 the company won the national Textile Design competition for the Hespeler Public Library in Cambridge, Ontario.

From January 2009 to August 2011 Anke was part of the @Lab research team at the Centre for Cultural Technology & Innovation in Halifax. This interdisciplinary three-year project was funded through ACOA’s Atlantic Innovation Fund to develop electronic textiles for architectural applications.
Her most recent project working as Artist-in-Residence with the Medical Humanities students at Dalhousie University clearly demonstrated her sincere appreciation for the creative process and for tactile knowledge.
Through her exploration of cloth over the past 30 years Anke has acquired a broad range of techniques, from felting to screen printing large scale photographic imagery, from dyeing with lichens and rust to heat transfer dye sublimation, from tapestry and back-strap weaving to digital weaving and laser cutting. Anke has exhibited her textiles in North America, Europe and Asia, has received grants to pursue her craft and won various awards for her work.

These days Anke is passionate about printing with natural dyes and is working on a series of yardages exploring their potential.
Her position as textiles technician at the NSCAD University provides her with endless opportunities to share her knowledge with the students and inspire them.

Please feel free to visit www.ankefox.com