Unplugged Speaker Series
Overview
Part of the Unplugged 2025 festivities at North House.
Norwegian Basketry Traditions with Hege Aasdal
12pm
Norwegian basketmaker Hege Iren Aasdal is passionate about producing baskets directly from nature, passing on traditions and knowledge both about the processing of materials and about weaving techniques. She has a journeyman's certificate as a basket maker and completed a research fellowship at the Norwegian Institute of Handicrafts. She teaches a variety of classes, harvests and prepares materials, and continues her research from her home in Steinstø, Norway. This is her first trip to teach in the US.
Invisible Life in Blue: The World of Japanese Indigo Shaped by Sukumo and Microbes with Kenta Watanabe
2pm
Based in Tokushima Prefecture, Kenta Watanabe is an indigo farmer (Ai-shi) and dyer (Some-shi). He oversees the entire process of traditional Japanese indigo dyeing—from cultivating Tadeai (Japanese indigo plants) and producing Sukumo (fermented indigo leaves), to building fermentation vats and dyeing textiles. Valuing indigo as a color rooted in daily life, he explores ways of living and expressing in harmony with nature through exhibitions and workshops both in Japan and abroad.
For Watanabe, passing on tradition to future generations means not only cultivating new expressions, but also honoring the ancestors who nurtured this culture over time. He is committed to continuing the legacy of “living indigo” that bridges the past and the future.