SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 – Divine Sparks, Zack Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2014 – Falling from Grace, Maple Ridge Art Gallery, Maple Ridge BC
2013 – Integrated Circuits and Other Connections, Craft House Gallery, Vancouver BC
2009 – Future Reliquaries, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
2007 – Dreams, Visions, Memories, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
2003 – 2007 – Cover Ups and Revelations, traveling in the US and Canada
2002 – Cover-ups and Revelations, Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver
1992 – Palimpsests, Voices from the Past, The Gallery at Temple Sholom, Vancouver
– Broken Promises, Craft House Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1984 – Cats, Cradles, and Other Fascinations, Muttart Gallery, Calgary AB
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 – Woven by Hand, Contemporary Canadian Tapestries, Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, Almonte, Ontario
– Anti-War 2024 – online exhibition at https://www.exhibizone.com/anti-war-2024
2023 – American Tapestry Biennial 14 – Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville TN, USA
– Jewish Museum and Archives, benefit for Scribe Journal
– World of Threads – Oakville Ontario
– Exhibition in Print – Surface Design Association
2022 – Illuminations, Il Museo, Vancouver, BC
2021 – American Tapestry Biennial 13, Falmouth MA and San Jose CA
– More Impact: Climate Change – San Jose, CA
2020 – Castaways, Bateman Gallery, Victoria, BC
-Tapestry Touring International – various venues in Canada and England
-Nature’s Clothesline, Museum of Surrey, Surrey, BC
-Personal and Material Geographies, Il Museo, Vancouver, BC
-La Magie des Fils – La Sarre, Quebec
2019 – Premiere International Tapestry Exhibition, Oakville, Ontario
2018 – Women’s Work, Italian Cultural Centre, Vancouver, BC
– Weaving New Worlds: Contemporary Tapestry, William Morris Gallery, London, UK
– Tapestry in New England & Beyond, Highfield Hall, Falmouth MA
2017 – Here and Now: International Tapestry, Holborne Museum, Bath UK
– Connections, Crafthouse, Vancouver
– (in)finite: exploring the ineffable nature of the Divine, Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, BC
2016 – 15th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lódz, Poland
– Here and Now: International Tapestry, National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford, UK
– Fibre Art International 2016, Pittsburgh, PA
– Tapestry: Contemporary Takes on an Ancient Art Form, Featherstone Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
– American Tapestry Biennial 11, South Bend Museum of Art, Indiana and touring to Topeka, Kansas and San Jose, California
– Crafting Conscience, Alberta Craft Council Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2015 – Contemporary International Tapestry, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton New Jersey
– The Art is the Cloth, Walton Gallery and Newtown, PA and Deerfield MA
2014 – Small Expressions, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
– The Art is the Cloth, New Hampshire Institute of Arts, Manchester, NH
– The New Art of the Loom, travelling in the US
2013 – The New Art of the Loom, travelling to Louisiana, USA and Montreal and Ottawa, Canada
– American Tapestry Biennial 9, Fort Wayne, Indiana
2012 – American Tapestry Biennial 9, Dairy Barn, Athens Ohio
2011 – American Tapestry Biennial 8, American Textile History Museum, Lowell MA
2010 – By Hand: BC & Yukon, Vancouver Museum, Vancouver, BC
– From Lausanne to Beijing: 6th biennial textile exhibit, Zhengzhou, China
2009 – Connections: Small Tapestry International, San Jose Museum of Textiles, CA and Leeds Gallery, IN
– Unity and Diversity, Canadian Pavillion, Cheongju International Biennale, South Korea
2008 – Contemporary Craft in BC: Excellence within Diversity, Vancouver Museum, Vancouver BC
– American Tapestry Biennial 7, Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, Tampa, Florida, and Kentucky Museum of Art & Craft, Louisville, KY
2007 – Narrative Tapestry, Craft Alliance, Saint Louis, MO
– Canadian Tapestry, Burlington Art Centre, Burlington ON
2006 – Tapestry On the Edge, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle WA
2005 – Karpit Two, Budapest, Hungary
2004 – Friends Across the Water: Canada/US/Japan, Yufuin Gallery, Japan
– American Tapestry Biennial 5, Denver CO, and Guild, New Hampshire
2002 – International Biennial of Contemporary Tapestry, Beauvais, France
– Small Expressions, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver
2001- Artropolis, exhibition of contemporary B.C. art
2000 – American Tapestry Biennial III, Cincinnati, OH and Denver, CO
– Contemporary West Coast Tapestry, Seattle, WA
1999 – Weaving Between the Lines, Alberta Crafts Gallery, Edmonton, AB
– The Woven Image: 20th Century Tapestry, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, IL
1998 – Weaving Between the Lines, Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver, and travelling
1997 – Fiberart International ’97, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
1994 – Contemporary Tapestry: 1990 to the Present, California Crafts Museum, San Francisco, CA
1991 – Tapestry from the Western Edge, Kelowna, Victoria, and Castlegar, BC Grande Prairie, AB
– Human Shelter, four-person show, Center for Tapestry Arts, New York
– Fiberart International 1991, Pittsburgh, PA
1990 – International Tapestry Network (ITNET) First Exhibit, Anchorage and Fairbanks, AK
– Tapestry from the Western Edge, travelling to Prince George, B.C. and Toronto, ON
1989 – Canadian Tapestry in New York, Center for Tapestry Arts, New York, NY
1987 – International Textile Fair ’87, Kyoto, Japan
1986 – Tapestry Canada, Barnicke Gallery, Toronto, and Homer Watson Gallery, Kitchener, ON
SELECTED AWARDS AND HONOURS
2022 Jekyll Award for Leadership in Craft, presented by the Canadian Craft Federation
2021 Crafts Council of B.C. nominee, Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Crafts
2018 Teitelbaum Award – first prize, American Tapestry Biennial 12, Weaving New Worlds
2016 Teitelbaum Award – first prize, American Tapestry Biennial 11
2014 First place, Small Expressions, Handweavers Guild of America
2010 Teitelbaum Award – second prize – American Tapestry Biennial 8
2009 Hilde Gerson Award for excellence, innovation and leadership in the BC craft community.
2006 B.C. Society of Tapestry Artists nominee, Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the Crafts
2005 Crafts Assoc. of B.C. nominee for the Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the Crafts
2004 Crafts Assoc. of B.C. nominee for the Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the Crafts
2004 Second prize, “The Artist as Shaman,” international online symbolist art show
1996 Canada Council Travel Grant to attend fibre symposium in Kherson, Ukraine and take part in international exhibition
1994 Recipient of a N’Shei Chabad award for Women in the Arts for ‘enriching the community’
1992 Crafts Assoc. of B.C. nominee for the Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the Crafts
SELECTED COLLECTIONS AND COMMISSIONS
Seaboard Life Building, Vancouver, B.C.
Vancouver Jewish Community Centre, Vancouver, B.C.
M. et Mme. Robelin, Casablanca, Morocco
The Eye Care Centre, Vancouver General Hospital
College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, Vancouver
Temple Sholom, Vancouver
Susan Mendelson and Jack Lutsky, Vancouver
Mr. And Mrs. Jacobs, Hilton Head, South Carolina
Mr. John Lefebvre, Vancouver, Salt Spring Island and California
SELECTED BOOKS
Tapestry Design, Basics and Beyond, Tommye Scanlin, Schiffer Books, 2020
The Art of Tapestry Weaving, Rebecca Mezoff, Schiffer Books, 2020
The Art is the Cloth, Micala Sidore, Schiffer Books, 2020
To Weave or Not to Weave, Dirk Holger, Schiffer Books, 2018
Contemporary International Tapestry, Carol Russell, 2015
War Imagery in Women’s Textiles, Deacon and Calvin, McFarland Press, 2014 (cover image)
Falling from Grace: the Tapestries of Barbara Heller, 2014
The Tapestry Handbook (revised and updated), Carol Russell, Lark Press, 2007
Cover Ups and Revelations, the Tapestries of Barbara Heller, 2005
Design Book One(1980), Design Book Two (1983), Design Book Three (1988), Design Book Four (1991), Design Book Five (1995), Design Book Six (1999), and Design Book Seven (2003) Lark Books, Asheville, N.C.
The Tapestry Handbook, Carol Russell, Lark Press, 1990
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Afterimages, January 2021, Polish magazine published by the Academy of Fine Arts, article by Beatrijs Sterk
Galleries West, December 15, 2022, Craft Service and Communities of care by Amy Gogarty
The Scribe – the Journal of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, volume XL
TextileForum Blog – December 2018 – Divine Sparks : Barbara Heller – review with photos– https://www.textile-forum-blog.org/2018/12
Galleries West Summer 2009, Barbara Heller, Future Reliquaries, previews and profiles
Jewish Independent, Vancouver BC, 2009, May 15, 2009 – The Tapestries’ Stories
Tapestry Topics, Fall 2009, page 13, “The Beauty of the Bones” by Ruth Jones
TextileForum, Hanover, Germany, fall 2004, fall 2006, fall 2008, summer 2010, winter 2013 – Tapestries by Barbara Heller, page 12
International Tapestry Journal, September 2003, Tapestry and Meaning, article by S. Marcus
Georgia Straight, August 1, 2002, The Warp and Woof of Weaving” by Robin Laurence
Artichoke Magazine, (fall 2002), Barbara Heller: The Cover-Up Tapestries, by Bettina Matzkuhn, page14-17.
Fiberarts Magazine, Asheville, N.C.
May/June 1980 – Sacred Places, the Tapestry Landscapes of Barbara Heller by C. Redmond
July/August 1986 – The Spirit Tracings of Barbara Heller by Ruth Strong
March/April 1990 – Tapestry Now – point for the Past and Future by B. Freudenheim
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
– Education Director, American Tapestry Alliance – 2022-now
– Advisory committee for The Scribe, magazine of the Jewish Archives and Museum of British Columbia, 2 issues on BC Artists – 2022
– Juror for CCBC awards committee – 2020-now
– Board Member and Awards Chair, Crafts Council of British Columbia, Vancouver, 2013-2019
– Cultural Arts Committee, Jewish Community Centre, Vancouver – 1995-now
– Board Member, American Tapestry Alliance, 1998-2006
– Canadian Correspondent, International Tapestry Journal, 1995-2005
– Editor Making a Place for Tapestry and Weaving Between the Lines: BC Tapestry on the Edge, published by BC Stars
– Organizer, Weaving Between the Lines, travelling exhibit BC and Alberta, 1998
– Founder, Canadian Tapestry Network and Co-editor of the Newsletter, 1995-now
– Founder, British Columbia Society of Tapestry Artists (BC Stars), 1993
– Organizer, international symposium Making a Place for Tapestry, and concurrent exhibits, 1993
– Opened the Fiber Art Studio on Granville Island, 1979