Ruth Funk Lectures on Coat Couture at Florida Techs Funk Center Oct. 16

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Ruth Funk will discuss her coat collection and creations in a special Gallery Talk Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. in the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology. The center will also extend its hours that day to 6 p.m. There is no charge.

The opening and current exhibit at the center, “Coat Couture: Inspiration to Creation,” features the contemporary wearable art creations of Funk, the center’s benefactor, as well as a selection of traditional textiles from the permanent collection.

A Florida Tech trustee, Funk is a former art educator, collector and author. She is an accomplished artist-designer and textile preservationist. Committed to elevating textile arts through her wearable art, she has also created fiber art jewelry and accessories. Her legacy is creating visually engaging wearable art—garments and handmade jewelry—out of recycled textiles made from time-honored ancestral techniques that have been underappreciated.

This special lecture is part of Florida Tech’s Homecoming 2009 activities.

The university is located at 150 W. University Boulevard, Melbourne. The new center is located in the heart of campus, next to Evans Library. For more information, contact the Funk Center at (321) 674-8313 or visit http://textiles.fit.edu.