Flax and Furious - A community-based approach to sustainable fibre research

The Global Centre for Climate Action
BMO Climate Action Speaker Series

Join us!

Flax and Furious: A community-based approach to sustainable fibre research
March 26, 2026
OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street,
MCA 190 Auditorium
6:30 - 8:00pm (Doors open at 6:20)

The Global Centre for Climate Action welcomes NSCAD professor Jennifer Green and OCAD U professor Shannon Gerard as they discuss their current research and creative practices.

Drawing on years of hands-on fieldwork with Nova Scotia farmers and craftspeople, NSCAD professor Jennifer Green will discuss how design research can bridge sustainable agriculture, textile production, and climate action. Joining Prof. Green will be OCAD U professor Shannon Gerard who will share her research. Plant Parenthood – a farm, a publishing house and a classroom with an emphasis on radical seed saving, cooperative programming, regional adaptation of diasporic food and social justice.
 

Introducing:
Jennifer Green,
Associate Professor, Division of Craft, NSCAD University

Her talk will introduce the Flaxmobile Project (2022–24) and the Flax Fibre to Fabric Project (2024–28) as two community-based research initiatives that aim to re-establish knowledge of fibre flax growing in Atlantic Canada and reconnect craftspeople with access to local linen fibre toward the development of new materials and products. This presentation will cover the community-based origins for the project, the transition design research methodology, the researcher's role in community engagement activities, and approaches to procuring research funding for arts-based practice.

Bio: Jennifer Green is an Associate Professor of Textiles/Fashion at NSCAD University, and Principal Investigator of the Flax Fibre to Fabric Project. She began growing flax in 2010 to connect with the plant origins of linen, a textile material she was using as a handspinner and weaver. After many years observing the disconnected agriculture and craft sectors in Eastern Canada, she launched the Flaxmobile Project, an initiative focused on strengthening the local natural fibre industry by conducting skills development and training and creating networking opportunities for geographically decentralized farmers and craftspeople. Her research has been funded by the Change Lab Action Research Initiative, Research Nova Scotia, the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. This work is supported by additional research projects such as “Woolgathering: Revitalizing a Local and Sustainable Wool Industry in Nova Scotia”.

With:
Shannon Gerard,
Associate Professor, Printmaking and Publications, OCAD University

Shannon will present the early stages of her fibre- and print-based activities at Plant Parenthood, her farm in Stirling, Ontario, as an example of how research-creation can evolve from an individual studio practice into broader work with community and political imperatives. Jennifer Green’s work with the Flaxmobile is an exciting inspiration for Plant Parenthood in “leveling up.” How can farmers and artists work together to influence provincial policy initiatives?

Bio: Shannon Gerard crochets (a lot), makes books, quilts political protest banners and produces site-specific textile installations. As a professional mischief maker, her public/pedagogical projects emphasize the materials and ethos of independent publishing as social-political engagements. Shannon is an Associate Professor in Publications and Print Media at OCAD University and an herb & flower enthusiast. Current projects include Plant Parenthood, a farm-based publishing imprint that so far includes a radical seed subscription club and zines about herb production and Terroir, a book series exploring the relationships between small scale farming, food sovereignty, climate action, radical pedagogy, and liberation movements.

Contact: climateaction@ocadu.ca