UPDATE March 2022

COMING SOON

RICHARD McVETIS: SHAPED BY TIME

Crafts Study Centre Farnham April 5th - July 30th 2022

Curated by Lesley Millar, selected works explore the mapping of space and marking of time as a central theme.


TEXTILE PERSPECTIVES ONLINE PRESENTATIONS

April 27th - The Linen Biennale Northern Ireland
Robert Martin and Professor Jane McCann in conversation
Early May - date tbc - Finnish Designer and Weaver Outi Martikainen talks about her practiceFurther information @clothandmemory or contact Lesley Millar

TANSA - Japanese Threads of Influence

The Miniature Textiles from Japan and the UK opened at the Crafts Study Centre at UCA Farnham from January 4th until March 25th 2022 before transferring to Gallery Gallery in Kyoto Japan to be shown in April 2022.

The installation is beautiful, pared back with each miniature work a self-contained expression of the artist's intention. This exhibition has a limited edition numbered catalogue available from the Crafts Study Centre online book store for £7.50 + p&p

Below is also a short Curator's 'taster' video of the exhibition and another video with unique and idiosyncratic glimpses inside some of the Japanese artists' studios.

During the exhibition the curator and many of the UK artists have given 'sold out' exhibition tours for the public:

A second TANSA exhibition in which the UK artists explore the processes of making Opened at South Hill Park on February 26th until April 3rd. Full supporting programme available.

CAROLINE BARTLETT: A RESTLESS DYNAMIC

Crafts Study Centre Farnham - September 21st - December 11th 2021
Curated by Lesley Millar the selected work explores ideas around continuity and change as a concept. Also a video interview between Caroline Bartlett and Lesley Millar in the exhibition.

UPDATE June 2021

The past year has been extremely difficult, as everyone knows. 'Fabric: touch and identity' finally closed at the end of December 2020 with, in the circumstances, exceptional interest. But so many future projects cancelled or postponed...however it has been a total pleasure to host a series of online presentations under the overall title of 'Textile Perspectives'.

Each has been given by someone who has had impact on the positioning of contemporary textile practice, all demonstrate the breadth and depth of that practice and most have not given a presentation in the UK until now. Below are the details of each of the presentations to date - attendance has been extremely rewarding, topping 140 for Erin M Riley, from all over the world. The series will continue, next on June 23, check @clothandmemory for announcements.

Register for Common Threads – ITRC 23 June

 

UPDATE - Fabric: touch and identity

Since the beginning of May over 6,000 visits have been made to the online tour of the exhibition! And, HOORAH, as from July 7th the exhibition has been open again! And (Covid 19 willing) will remain open until the end of the year! Visits must be booked so please visit the Compton Verney website for details. Look forward to seeing you there...

Image: Jamie Woodley

Image: Jamie Woodley

Lockdown archive clearout

Like everyone else, I have been using the lockdown to have a serious clearout and of course have unearthed photographs which take me right back to how my exhibition organisation began. When this chapter in my life began I had no idea how far I would travel - from Revelation in 1996 and taking it to Japan; to the extraordinary Textural Space (6 venues spread through Farnham, Brighton Maidstone and Rochester, ALL opening at the same time! Then the Sainsbury Centre and the Whitworth! What was I thinking...? Thank you UCA for your trust then and now!) and the continuing and ever inspiring relationship with Japan; to the joyful working relationship with Italy founded in Transparent Boundaries; and to friends and colleagues who have since died and those with whom I am still working. Thank you to all.

Opening Fabric: touch and identity

Well - we did manage to have the Private View and so many attended. Thank you! Great response from the public. Was delighted that Pru Leith tweeted that Reiko's Fan installation alone was worth the price of the ticket! And interesting responses from the press particularly from Bob and Roberta Smith who talked very favourably about the exhibition on Radio 4's Saturday Review.

But...now we are in lockdown and who knows if or when the exhibition will re-open. So much hard work....

Installing at Compton Verney

Now it becomes a reality - the exhibition we have developed from The Erotic Cloth: Fabric: touch and identity is being installed in February, 6 years after Alice and I first started on this jouney. On February 24th Kazuhiro Ueno from NUNO arrived in order to install Reiko Sudo's incredible installation of 300 large indigo fans and on 27th Reiko herself arrived to oversee it. Everyone worked so hard and by the time she left on 28th the installation was almost complete, Kazuhiro staying on for the final stages. It is breath taking. I can't wait for the public response.

I returned on March 9th to complete the install. Maxine Bristow came to install her work herself, and as always it is a joy to work with such a professional - one of those working relationships built over 18(!) years Alice installed her beautiful Adam and Eve - the rest we did together. Such interesting correspondences have emerged, particularly the relationship between Nigel Hurlstone's 'What Pleasure' and Vivienne Westwood's Red Suit, also Bob White's 'Between cloth and Skin' and Annie Bacoul's 'Vivre et rêver... en dentelle'. And as for Rūta Naujalytė's wallpaper 'My love I will eat you alive' at the entrance to the exhibition - couldn't want anything better!

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But over everything hangs the Corvid 19 worry and what will happen. I so hope we can have the Opening on March 12th! So much hard work has gone into this exhibition...

Research Trip to Bologna

The ITRC and the Crafts Study Centre are hosting a Symposium later this year title Craft in Performance. As part of the event we would like to invite a dancer/performance artist who uses craft in some way. Our wonderful friends at AMAT (Transparent Boundaries), who introduced us to Masako Matsushita with whom we have worked on The Erotic Cloth, suggested choreographer and dancer Alessandro Carboni who works with ideas of mapping using sometimes threads and sometimes bricks.

After email exchanges with Alessandro I went over to Bologna in January to meet him to discuss how we might work together on the notion of craft in performance. He was fantastic! So much energy! We had excellent discussions with the outcome that he has made 2 proposals: one including a residency and one with workshops and a performance. Both using threads. We are now thinking maybe to move the Symposium to October to coincide with Farnham Craft Month in order to maximise his presence.

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Visiting International Lecturer

On December 12th we had an early Christmas present! Associate Professor Monika Zaltauskaite Grasiene, Textiles Art Media Kaunus Faculty, Villnius Academy of Art, and founding member of Kaunus Textile Biennial, visited UCA Farnham to deliver a lecture to our students (PG and UG) plus invited guests. She spoke eloquently and passionately about her own work and the ways in which jacquard weaving has been used in Lithuania to create textile art. She then kindly undertook tutorials with our MA textile students.

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Post Graduate Textile Research Trip to Japan - 2-12 November

This year and, with Beverly Ayling Smith at my side, I took 17 UCA Post Graduates (MA, PhD and Post Doc) on a research trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, Arimatsu, Kanazawa and back to Tokyo. We had the most amazing time visiting a National Living Treasure (thanks to Reiko Sudo), traditional Masters and contemporary, internationally renowned artists and designers in their studios. Here are just some highlights:

  • Mr. Yasumasa Komiya, National Living Treasure at his Katazome workshop who demonstrated his technique of super fine Edo Komon. and hIs father and grandfather were both National Living Treasures and he became a National Living treasure 2018.

  • Visit NUNO shop and meet Reiko Sudo

  • Arimatsu (shibori centre) visit:

Harisho - See the techniques of itajime shibori and mame shibori (a spotted pattern
Marimomen (shop)
Two graduates from Nagoya University own the shop. The shop is normally closed on Wednesday, but they will open on the 6th November especially for us.Shibori dyeing Kuno studio http://www.shibori-zome.com See the technique of arashi shibori.
Shibori museum
Workshop and visit Suzan
Sekka shibori (snowflake tie-dye) workshop

  • Visits to studios of Jun Tomita and Hiroyuki Shindo

  • Presentation and discussions with Chiyoko Tanaka, Suzumi Noda

  • Visit HOSOO one of the old NISHIJIN textile companies.

  • Visit Kenji Kitada at his Kanazawa Yuzen studio for demonstration and talk

  • Visit Gold Leaf Museum Kanazawa for private tour with Director.

  • Visit Miho Museum

Full and fulfilling. Unfortunately our flight home was cancelled and our return journey was very stressful. Thankfully we have recovered and all participants have decided to organise an exhibition of work inspired by the trip and invite the Japanese artists to participate. The exhibition will be shown in 2022 at the Crafts Study Centre UCA Farnham and Gallery Gallery Kyoto.

British Council Award for Research Collaboration with Georgia

So exciting! We have been successful in our application to the British Council for our collaboration with Tbilisi Academy, the Georgia Arts and Culture Centre and UCA. Our theme is the reconfiguration of traditional crafts, specifically Blue Cloth/indigo. Linda Brassington will be leading for UCA and Prof Tinatin Kldiashvili for the Acadamy in Tbilisi. Both are experts in the field - Linda as a contemporary indigo artist and UNESCO advisor for Intangible Cultural Heritage (Blue Cloth) and Tinatin as a contemporary artist and designer using traditional Blue Cloth heritage. Linda will travel to Tbilisi next Spring and work together with Tinatin. At the end of the collaboration Simon and I will host a conference in Tbilisi where we will invite papers on the relationship between tradition/heritage and contemporary practice. We will then exhibit at the Crafts Study Centre at UVA the works created by both artists and host an 'in conversation' event.

Linda Brassington

Linda Brassington

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Tinatin Klidiashvili

Encompassing Research: essays from the School of Craft and Design

August saw the 'landmark' publication of a book of research essays from the academic staff of the School of Craft and Design, edited (and contributed to) by Prof Simon Olding, Director of the Crafts Study Centre and me. This is a first for UCA and the essays are terrific and very wide ranging: including the advantage for football teams of spatial awareness of home grounds; autobiographical influences on the creation of jewellery; the bringing together of a fragmented statue from antiquity etc. I love the size (fits in the pocket) and feel of the book - thanks to Gerry Diebel - as ever - at Direct Design - it is available to buy here

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European Textile Network Conference

This year the ETN conference was held in at the fabulous Textile Museum in Haslach Austria between July 27th - 31st. Back in 2006 we showed 21:21 - the textile vision of Reiko Sudo and NUNO in this venue when it was still an empty mill and the dream of Christina Leitner to turn it into a museum. And she has achieved her dream, more than...the museum was awarded Museum of the Year! Remarkable achievement! And from now on ETN will be based at the Museum.

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The Conference was very well organised and Chaired with great professionalism by Tim Parry Williams. Sadly Beatrijs Sterk, retiring President of ETN was taken ill and so could not present, however her Paper was read on her behalf by current President Lala de Dios.

There were speakers from all over the world including Lia Cooke (USA), Mary Schoesser (UK/USA), Giselle Eberhard Cotton (Switzerland), Marta Kowalewska (Poland) - so many! I presented my Paper The Sensuous Cloth on the first day, and I was followed by our wonderful colleague and co-ordinator in Japan: Keiko Kawashima. In the evening all the galleries in Haslach opened up and I visited the exhibition of tapestries by Marga Persson and the most exquisite and moving exhibition of old/antique Japanese textiles from the collection of Kei Kawasaka in the ancient clock tower of Haslach.

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The second day we all visited the Garden of Eden exhibition which was installed in the beautiful and atmospheric Schloss Neuhaus on the river Danube. We then took a boat along the Danube to Linz to visit the Ars Electronica Museum for a collaborative presentation between the Museum and the graduating fashion and textile students from Linz University. Then on again by coach to a private gallery and arts centre in the countryside for supper and a viewing of artists work. The final day (for me) featured a presentation from Reiko Sudo as we all sat beneath her Koi Carp installation at the Museum in Haslach.

In the evening we had the final dinner and here you see me with Reiko Sudo, Jun Tomita and Yuka Kawai.

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Reiko Sudo

On June 10th accompanied Reiko Sudo on her visit to Compton Verney to see the site and discuss her installation for the exhibition Fabric: touch and identity. A very rainy, cold and grey day so not the best setting for her to see Compton Verney for the first time. However! she has the most amazing proposal (of course!) developed from her huge installation at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC. If it is achievable - and Reiko Sudo believes it is - then it will be totally immersive and sensational. She is so inspiring to work with...

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Crafting the Body Symposium

The latest joint venture between the Crafts Study Centre and the ITRC - a symposium held at UCA on 22nd May. The Conference was Opened by UCA Chancellor Professor Magdalene Odundo, who spoke about the relationship between her pots, bodies and cultures.

Fantastic papers responding to the call, and a stand out Keynote from Professor Catherine Harper, Deputy Vice Chancellor University of Chichester who addressed the theme: Chasing the Impossible: Crafting the Intimate Body.

Other papers included:

  • Fiona Curran: Wondering about craft: From imagined bodies to bodies of imagination.

  • Daniel Fountain: All that Glitters is Gold: Queer Worldmaking Practices and Trashy Textiles.

  • Dr David Jones: Understandings Hinted at in the Re-Construction of Negative Space.

  • Gareth Mason; Making Sense

  • Gayle Matthias: S-O-T Body Repairs: Personal Geographies

  • Karina Thompson: Sign your name across my heart: Biometric embroidery as a metaphor

Catherine Harper

Catherine Harper

Karina Thompson

Karina Thompson

The Vlieseline Fine Art Textiles Award

Award winner Ann-Godard.

Award winner Ann-Godard.

Honoured to be invited in May to be one of the Judges for the first Vlieseline Fine Art Textile Award, alongside June Hill, Alice Kettle, Diana Harrison, Jan Beaney and Jean Draper. We each have specialisms, yet it was interesting that in the end we were unanimous in our choices.

Great to see the emerging practitioners alongside the (justly) well established submitting work. Do hope the Award will continue - like the Cordis, it is much needed.

Spaces and Places Conference

Very excited to attend the two day Spaces and Places Conference in Bruges April 13th and 14th, and to give my Paper 'Framed By Textiles'. The Conference organisers are committed to cross discipline exchange and it was really stimulating to discuss ideas with architects, sociologists, geographers, historians, artists and poets! Interesting collaborations have emerged...plus the opportunity to develop and publish my paper.

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Cordis Prize Conference

On March 15th I attended the opening of the Cordis Prize for Tapestry 2019 in Edinburgh - a wonderful celebration of contemporary tapestry, and a much needed high profile focus on the medium.

The following day I was invited to give a Paper titled 'Contemporary Tapestry - finding its place?' to the supporting Conference 'The Thread Runs Both Ways'. Unfortunately snow had started to fall overnight and continued to fall heavily throughout the morning. This did not affect the audience, but did mean that I had to leave directly after giving my paper in order to catch one of the last trains leaving Edinburgh for London before the snow closed the lines.

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ITRC Annual Lecture

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A very full Spring kicking off in February with the Inaugural ITRC Annual Textile Lecture, which was given by Matilda McQuaid, Deputy Director of the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York. It was a great honour as Matilda flew over especially to give this lecture in which she presented an overview of her current project and its underlying context of sustainability and innovation. The lecture took place in UCA's newly opened Media Centre Lecture theatre and was extremely well attended. Afterwards UCA served afternoon tea and Matilda very generously answered many, many questions from the delegates who all stayed on.

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November 2018

Weaving New Worlds

Weaving New Worlds has now closed with wonderful visitor figures: 28,160 - with 1,000 on final Sunday!

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this a success, and I hope there will be many more exhibitions of contemporary tapestry in the next years.

The Erotic Cloth

The Erotic Cloth will be translated into Chinese, which is fantastic news for Alice Kettle, me and all the contributing authors. It is also still available in English here.

We are also very excited to be working with the perfect venue: Compton Verney, on an exhibition as a further development of the theme of Cloth and Sensuality. More details here as they are available.

The Matter of Material

The special issue of Textile: Cloth and Culture - The Matter of Material - which was previously available electronically, has now been published as a print version. The issue comprises essays developed from the conference of the same name held at in collaboration between UCA and Turner Contemporary as part of their supporting programme for the exhibition 'Entangled'. The contents are:

Introduction
Lesley Millar

The Canon and the Gift
Catherine Harper

Medium (Un)specificity as Material Agency - The Productive Indeterminacy of Matter/Material
Maxine Bristow

The Bedsheet: From Linen Cupboard to Art Gallery
Beverly Ayling-Smith

The Event of a Stitch: The Seamstress, the Traveler, and the Storyteller
Catherine Dormer

Unpicking the Narrative: Difficult women, Difficult Work
Lucy Day, Eliza Gluckman, Freddie Robins

Looking Beyond the Warp and Weft: Unpicking Latent Narratives in Clothing
Shelly Goldsmith