The Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology opens its doors to the public on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m. Admission is free. The center is the only textile arts center in the state of Florida.  Dedicated to furthering the understanding of cultural and creative achievements in the textile and fine arts, the center will preserve, maintain, display and interpret an international collection of textiles through public exhibitions and educational programs.

MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Florida Institute of Technology Department of Humanities and Communication fall textiles class will be Textiles of Asia. The interdisciplinary course will examine the cultural context of clothing and textile production, trade and design along the historical Silk Road, from China to the Mediterranean.

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Ruth Funk, Florida Institute of Technology trustee and benefactor, has published Cloth and Culture: Couture Creations of Ruth E. Funk. A tribute to the textile arts, the volume takes readers through the couture creations Funk has made over the last 25 years.

MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology opens its doors to the public on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m. Admission is free. The center is the only textile arts center in the state of Florida.

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Luxurious silks and historic design will be the focus of Florida Institute of Technology’s Friends of Textiles Lecture, “The History of Western Textile Design,” on Tuesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. on campus in the Denius Student Center’s Hartley Room.

MELBOURNE, FLA. — This year’s National Women’s History Month ceremony at Florida Institute of Technology will present two awards to deserving women on March 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Green Ribbon Award for Women will honor an individual who is "Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet.

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Tech celebrates the kimono in the Funk Textiles Gallery, Crawford Building, Room 405, extending its hours for the current exhibit, “Kimono: Transition to Modernity” on Thursday, Feb. 19 until 7 p.m. The extension will allow those coming to hear international curator Annie Van Assche’s complimentary lecture, “The Kimono and Western Dress in the Early 20th Century: a Revolution in Fashion,” at 7 p.

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology will feature textile artist Yvonne Porcella in the presentation “Kimono as Quilt” on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Gleason Performing Arts Center. This is the first of the Friends of Textiles Lecture Series in association with the opening of Kimono: a Transition to Modernity, which runs Feb.

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology will present two premier cultural events on campus as part of the university’s annual textiles celebration, “Uncommon Threads,” Feb. 19 and 20. This year’s theme is “The Kimono.

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Thea Rusch is the new collections manager for the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology. She will manage the care and preservation of Florida Tech’s international collection of textiles by ensuring proper handling, storage, cataloging, conservation and exhibition techniques.