Born in 1948 in Portland, Oregon, Joan Livingstone is a contemporary artist, educator, curator, and author known for large-scale fiber installations that emphasize the human body in relation to its surroundings. An early interest in experimental theater and set design led Livingstone to investigate the history of textiles with a focus on garments and felt objects. She spent one year at Beloit College in Wisconsin before completing her undergraduate degree at Portland State University in Oregon (BA, 1972). She pursued further studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art, earning her MFA in 1974. After completing her studies, Livingstone taught for several years at both the Kansas City Art Institute and Cranbrook. In 1983, she accepted a position at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she continues to work as a professor and chairs the department of fiber and material studies. Though much of her early work was in epoxy-dipped industrial felt, more recent exhibitions have incorporated found objects collected around her neighborhood and multimedia works. In addition to her contributions as an artist and educator to the field of fiber, Livingstone is a prolific author and lecturer. She co-edited The Object of Labor, a scholarly anthology investigating textile industry, published in 2007. Livingstone has mounted solo exhibitions in museums and galleries around the country and is represented within many public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. She was honored in 2014 with the Chairman’s Award from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has won numerous fellowships throughout her career. Joan Livingstone was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2001.