Cathryn Cootner, former textiles department curator at the de Young Museum will present ‘Top Picks’ Tours on Thursday, February 18th at 4pm and Friday, February 19th at 9am, at The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show. Tickets are $40 and include show admission. Tickets are limited and advance purchase is recommended.

The “Top Picks” tour is an opportunity for collectors to preview and purchase pieces in advance of public hours, and with the benefit of a scholarly eye. Each tour will showcase more than 50 museum-quality pieces that Cathryn Cootner has selected and studied in advance. The tours are designed to educate and inform participants about what they should look for in materials, the questions to ask, and through the selected works, illustrate why these pieces are exceptional. Tours will be followed by a Q&A period.

Cathryn M. Cootner has been collecting and studying tribal arts from more than 40 years. She gave her first textile lecture at a Harvard University extension course in 1968. Since then she has held Curator of Tribal Rugs, and Curator-In-Charge of the Textiles Department at the de Young Museum. Cathryn M. Cootner was instrumental in transforming the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum of the FAMSF from a little known institution to one of the most important and respected in the field. Cathryn M. Cootner retired from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) in 1995, but remains an active member of the Textile Council, conducting lectures.

The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show is the only vetted exhibition of tribal art in the United States and is considered the top tribal art event in North America. The 2016 show will feature more than 80 dealers in tribal and ethnographic arts from February 18-21, 2016 at the Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion.

The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show is being held in conjunction with The American Indian Art Show / Marin.

The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show will open with a 30th Anniversary Cocktail Party on Thursday, February 18th. Public hours are Friday-Sunday. For additional information, visit www.sanfranciscotribalandtextileartsshow.com.