Introduction
The Gloria F. Ross Center, a private, non-profit research institute and
educational foundation established in 1997, is a “private operating
foundation” under the IRS code, section 501(c)(3). We are incorporated in
New York and Arizona. Our support comes from grants and gifts from private
foundations and individual donors, our Associates Program members, and
in-kind contributions from volunteers and collaborative organizations.
Arizona State Museum, home of the GFR Center for
Tapestry Studies
Fourth graders visiting Professor Gayle Wimmer
Mission The mission of the GFR Center is to foster the creative practice and
cultural study of tapestry. To accomplish our goals, we
Organize and support artistic, historical, and cultural
research and public programs, bringing together artists, weavers, scholars,
and collectors to share their varied perspectives.
Conduct active interdisciplinary research.
Organize lectures, exhibits, publications, workshops, and
other educational events.
Honor scholarly excellence in research, publication,
exhibition, and teaching.
Collaborate with museums and other organizations with
related goals.
Administration A Board of Trustees guides the GFR Center
and includes dedicated professionals involved in the tapestry world and
other pursuits, including academic, business, and museum realms. Board
members, who usually number from five to eight individuals, serve three-year
terms, renewable once before a required one-year sabbatical.
Dr. Ann Lane Hedlund, an anthropologist
and textile specialist, directs the GFR Center.
Ms. Bobbie Gibel serves as Administrative Assistant.
Facilities and Resources The GFR Center’s offices are located in the
Arizona State Museum on
the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. We maintain 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
Archives include records of more than three decades of tapestry making
by Gloria F. Ross and her associates. These research files are available to
visitors by advance appointment. The GFR Center neither collects nor owns
tapestries; we are a research and educational foundation. For information on
the textile collections at Arizona State Museum, visit our
resource articles.
