This year, all Valley Talks will be presented in a hybrid format, meaning guests have the option to attend the presentation in person at the Museum or virtually through Zoom. In checkout, make sure to select the correct ticketing option that reflects how you would like to attend the presentation.
Not all about wool is warm and fuzzy. . . Fleeced explores how, throughout history, the demand for wool in wartime existed in a vortex of negotiation, intrigue, and anxiety. It analyzes the concurrent rise of industrial production of woolen fabrics and Southern Hemisphere sheep culture in the 19th century and their influence on the enormous increase in the size of armies in the 20th century. While warring nations jockeyed for access to the same resource, they simultaneously searched for its elusive replacement - leading to the decisive rise of fully synthetic fibers after World War II. Fleeced is the culmination of a ten-year research journey by co-authors Madelyn Shaw and Trish FitzSimons.
Madelyn Shaw is a curator and author specializing in the exploration of American culture and history, and its international connections, through textiles and dress. She has held curatorial and administrative positions at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution; the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design; New Bedford Whaling Museum; The Textile Museum, Washington DC; and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC. She has curated more than 50 exhibitions, and published widely on topics related to the development of the American textile and fashion industries, the China Trade, Slave Cloth, and Aviation clothing and popular culture. Her co-author, Trish FitzSimons, in Brisbane, Australia, is a documentary filmmaker and exhibition curator with a passion for social and cultural history.
The Museum’s 2025 Valley Talks series is presented by the Museum of Work & Culture Preservation Foundation and the RI AFL-CIO.
The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state's oldest and only statewide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting and sharing Rhode Island's past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st -century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center and the Aldrich House.
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