Explore the interconnections between weaving and computing with new media and textile artist Ahree Lee in this hands-on workshop for makers of all ages.

About the artist:

Ahree Lee (b. 1971, South Korea) works with video, textiles, and new media to examine technology’s role in labor and relationships. Notable exhibitions include the recent solo show Fabrication, Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach (2024) and the group exhibitions Day Jobs, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, California (2024) and Weaving Data, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University, Oregon (2023). Her work is in the collections of the Museum of the Moving Image, Long Island City, New York; San Francisco State University; and Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Lee holds an MFA in graphic design from the Yale School of Art and a BA in English literature from Yale University.

About the artwork in Digital Capture:

Ahree Lee
Disrupting the Industry, 2019
Cotton, linen, and copper on canvas
Courtesy of the artist

Ahree Lee’s Disrupting the Industry draws a parallel between the historically female labor of weaving and the early contributions of women in computing—particularly in roles such as programming, which was in the beginning intensely manual, and the assembly of computer components such as core memory, which was often woven by hand. This weaving visualizes the percentages of computer science degrees earned by women between 1966 and 2010. The dramatic decline after an initial period of equally dramatic growth reflects the broader issues of systemic barriers and gender bias that shape the technology sector, and STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) more broadly. The title invokes the terminology that tech companies love to apply to themselves. Here, “disruption” is dislodged from its use as a marketing slogan and reframed in terms of social and economic realities.

Please note:
Seats are limited. If you will not be able to make your reservation, kindly email lindsey.hammel@ucr.edu to cancel your reservation and free your spot for another participant.