Textile education at Sesc Pompeia

situating the trajectories of Tiyoko Tomikawa, Ana Cordeiro and Mara Doratiotto

Abstract

This article discusses three trajectories related to the textile education at Sesc Pompeia’s workshops, in São Paulo, and situates them socially and historically. In order to do so, firstly it discusses the historiographical gaps that led to the definition of the study object. Then, it presents the trajectories of Tiyoko Tomikawa, Ana Cordeiro and Mara Doratiotto, mentioning their role at Sesc Pompeia as well as in other institutions and the exhibitions in which they took part. This presentation is done in a relational sense: the three trajectories overlap in different moments, and these links are underlined here, aiming to situate them within a broader scenery – the textile art and design circuit in the city of São Paulo. The research conducted semi-structured interviews with all three artists, as well as iconographic and documental surveys in their private collections; some of the images and documents found are also shared here. Lastly, from the consideration of Cheryl Buckley, Griselda Pollock and Howard Becker, it was possible to understand that the trajectories investigated here contribute to the tensioning of typical notions of art, design and craftsmanship.