Hippystitch at York Makers Winter Fair - Saturday 25 November 2023

Flyer designed by Lucy Monkman

 

The York Makers Winter Fair is nearly here and it's going to be great! It's at Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York, YO23 1BW on Saturday 25 November 2023 from 10am to 4pm.  Entry is free and there is a cafe.  I shall be there and I thought you might like to know what I'm bringing.

Hippystitch Fabric Necklaces

Hippystitch Flower Button Bracelets

As well as my colourful fabric necklaces pictured above and my flower button bracelets, I shall be bringing some stitched cords which are completely new.  If you're wondering what to do with these - you can use them to wrap up presents or you can stitch them into small vessels, as pictured below...

Stitched Cords & How to Use Them

I have made some new flower button brooches which are also very colourful - some are small and some are large with leather flowers...

Small Flower Button Brooches

Large Leather Flower Button Brooches

And completely new for this year, I have a lucky dip.  These are a bargain and would make lovely Christmas presents.  They are samples, experiments or lines that I don't make any more.  Once you've had a lucky dip, you may not be able to resist coming back for more.

Lucky Dip Bags

I will be bringing other things too but just thought you'd like to get a taster.

There will also be lots of other local makers there too selling ceramics, woodturned items, leather goods, stained glass, terrazzo homeware, wildlife inspired sculpture, jewellery, textiles both knitted and stitched, felted items, art, prints, cards, and baked goods. Take a look at York Makers on facebook or instagram to find out more about the Winter Fair stallholders and for a chance to win a £25 voucher to spend at the fair (giveaway closes on Monday 20 November at 6pm).

Christmas Cards & Justacard Christmas Pin

And remember,  all us makers, artists and small businesses really appreciate it when you buy from us, even if it's just a card.  In fact you can read more about the justacard campaign here.  Please follow and support @justacard which encourages people to value and buy from artists, makers, independent shops and small businesses.  In fact I've added my Justacard Christmas pin with the pictures of my Christmas cards above and below.  I shall be wearing it at the Winter Fair on Saturday!

Reindeer Badge Christmas Cards & Justacard Christmas Pin

Hope to see you at the York Makers Winter Fair!

Image: @angela.chick.illustration

Japanese Aesthetics of Recycling - Brunei Gallery SOAS London

Boro Coat from Kanto Area of Japan - Late 19th Century-Early 20th Century

This exhibition, at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS in London, focused on the Japanese techniques of boro, washi and kintsugi, embodying the Japanese principle of mottainai which is the mindful use of resources to avoid waste.  The term mottainai includes a sense of regret when things are wasted because it shows that these resources have not been properly appreciated and valued.

Boro Shikifuton (mattress cover or padding for a futon)
Late 19th Century/Early 20th Century

Stitch and patching detail from Boro Shikifuton above

Boro are Japanese textiles that have been patched and repaired.  They are made from worn clothing and scraps.  Historically, they were  made by poor, working people with few resources, showing their creativity in making items they needed. The stitching is often quite large and not especially neat.  They have become very collectable over the last 20 years and are often seen as abstract art.  I think they are most beautiful.

Various Boro, Kasuri and Sakiori Items

Detail of sashiko (little stab stitches) mending on an indigo jacket

Kasuri is a Japanese word for fabric that has been woven with fibres dyed specifically to create patterns in the fabric. It is an ikat technique. Sakiori is a woven cloth with a cotton warp and ripped cloth as the weft, often known as rag weaving.

I loved all the shoes on display...

White Cotton Japanese Tabi (Shoes)
Mid 20th Century

Patterns for Boro Shoes

Woven Shoes/Socks
Early 20th Century

Horn bags were used to store balls of cotton rag yarn made from recycled cotton garments.  The rope was thought to be used for equestrian purposes...

Horn Bags & Boro Rope

Hemp Storage Bags Including Kasuri Patches
Late 19th - Early 20th Century

Undergarment Known as a Sweat Repeller (Asehajiki)
Made from Cotton (warp) and Paper (weft) Thread
Early 20th Century

This "sweat repeller" undergarment (below) is being made by Sian Bowen, artist in residence at Kew Gardens, from abaca fibre to understand how the original was made.  The original is in the Harry S Parkes Collection at Kew.  It has no seams.

Replica 19th Century Undergarment by Sian Bowen Currently Under Construction

Undergarment on a Light Table to Illuminate Patched Repairs & Sashiko Stitching

There were a number of balls of sakiori yardage (yarn made from thin strips of ripped cloth - cotton rag yarn) on display which looked amazing.  Here is an obi - the belt worn with a kimono made from sakiori...

Sakiori Yardage and Obi
Late 19th Century

Washi is Japanese paper.  When it is discarded it can be recycled into a number of different things.  As it may consist of packaging, documents or books, this often leads to the recycled washi having interesting patterns from the printing or script on the original washi papers.  Sometimes this can reveal what the original paper was used for.  The recycled washi is used for packaging or wrapping materials, bags, floor coverings and even clothing.  It is eco friendly.

Washi Tatougami - Folding Paper Cases for Wrapping Items
19th Century 

Washi Floor Covering (on wall)
Late 19th/Early 20th Century
& Boro Floor Covering below
Mid 20th Century

Kin-tsugi (gold) and Gin-tsugi (silver) are methods of repair for pottery using gold and silver joinery to embrace the imperfections of repair and transform them into a thing of beauty. The repaired pottery has gold or silver visible scars that are striking to see.  It is a skilled process and the repaired pieces are often considered more valuable than the originals.

Repaired Pottery

At the Brunei Gallery there is also a Japanese Roof Garden where an exhibit of found calligraphy was on display.  The phrase - Unfit to mend the sky - is taken from an 18th Century novel "The Story of the Stone" which is important in Chinese literature.  The display is formed from stones whose markings resemble the letters of the English alphabet which make up this phrase. They have been arranged and rearranged by Qu Leilei, a leading contemporary Chinese artist, based in London and Caroline Deane, a London based artist inspired by Chinese art and philosophy... 

Unfit to mend the sky - Qu Leilei & Caroline Deane

The exhibition was fantastic.  I only got to see it shortly before it closed so unfortunately you can no longer go but hopefully this blogpost will give you a flavour of what was on display.  The items in the exhibition were part of the Karun Thakar Collection.

British Textile Biennial - Fragments of Our Time - The Whitaker - Part 3

Yasmin Jahan Nupur - I dreamed about walking in the sky - 2019

 

This is my final blogpost about exhibitions that were part of the British Textile Biennial (BTB).  I have saved this post till last because Fragments of Our Time remains on at The Whitaker in Rawtenstall, Lancashire until Sunday 10 December 2023.  The exhibition, curated by Uthra Rajgopal, showcases contemporary textile art by 17 South Asian artists from UK, USA, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.  

We are told...

"The materials, techniques and concepts highlight themes of labour, networks, migration, spiritual and emotional connections to textiles. From natural fibres and natural dyes to found objects, discarded clothing and debris, this exhibition presents an extraordinary display of woven, stitched, dyed, collaged, and felted artworks, ranging from the immersive to the delicate."

You can listen to the Cloth Cultures podcast where Uthra Rajgopal talks to writer, broadcaster and fashion historian, Amber Butchart, about this exhibition here.

I was particularly struck by Yasmin Jahan Nupur's piece above as I think it perfectly sums up the current state of the world and especially resonates here in the UK, where "Everything is falling apart".

Liaqat Rasul - How much does it cost?

I think Liaqat Rasul's How much does it cost? (above) was one of my favourite pieces.  It was specially commissioned for this year's British Textile Biennial. The constant movement gives different views of the piece which was made from an astonishing array or things e.g. stethoscope, coffee stirers, Bangladeshi stamp and banknote, nails, shoe, fabric, string, cable ties, cardboard, yarn and wire to name a few.  Rasul uses found objects in a colourful and playful way to make complex sculptures.  This rotating mobile conjures up a face and mobile faces are a recurrent theme in his work.

Rasul, a gay, Welsh, dyslexic, Pakistani man living in London, tells us that he likes to explore the diversity of people in the UK through his artwork and that his work acts as therapy for his experience of depression which also inspires his work.  The use of unusual materials in surprising ways allude to different and varying emotions and the multicultural traditions that provoke them.  He listed ingredients for his piece.  They were delicate, glory, pride, unique, playful, "way of doing", special, thoughtful.  He wants us to think analogue and embrace our support networks as we all need each other.

Gurjeet Singh - Untitled - 2023

Gurjeet Singh is based in Chandigarh, India. His soft creatures are inspired by conversations with friends and strangers.  He likes to work with found objects, discarded textiles and leftovers from his sister's stitching business.  This particular piece is made from cotton, linen, polyester, cotton embroidery, beads and buttons.  

I found his sculptures full of colour and texture and quite playful.  They were captivating.  I would have loved to see more but could only find two.

Boshudhara Mukerjee - Phoenix - 2022-23

Boshudhara Mukerjee lives and works in Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore) in southern India.  She cuts strips of fabric, garments, painted canvases and weaves, stitches and crochets them into these large scale net-like sculptures/hangings making "webs of the wardrobe as archive".  

There were several pieces of Mukerjee's work around the gallery and I loved them all especially the colourful ones.  Each seemed like a patchwork of woven pieces, stitched or tied together.

Robina Akhtar Ullah - Samaa - 2022

Robina Akhtar Ullah - Samaa (detail of front and back)
2022

Robina Akhtar Ullah is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Manchester.  Her work draws on her British-Pakistani heritage and references fragmented memories, an exploration of loss, borders and belonging. The work shown here is patchwork, specifically paper piecing and stitch.  The title Samaa is Arabic for sky.  She tells us that in Islam the sky is an integral part of religious practice and her observations of the sky led her to think that it does not discrimate in terms borders or ownership of space. Her colour palette is informed by photographs she took of the sky at different moments.  

I liked the use of paper and fabric in this piece and loved the colours.  I also found the back interesting as I always want to discover how things are constructed.

Dhara Mehrotra - Of Warps and Wefts VIII - 2023

Dhara Mehrotra lives and works in Bengaluru, India.  The piece above is made from acrylics, jute coir and inks on canvas.  Her current work explores mycellium (fungi) networks under the soil.  Drawing on scientific research (which is only just beginning to understand these networks and their relationship to trees) and observation, she presents us with a mesh of fibre and line.  

I was drawn to the colours and textures of Mehrotra's pieces.

Sibaprasad Karchaudhuri - Sun and Moon and other elements - 1990-95

Sibaprasad Karchaudhuri is based in Santiniketan in West Bengal, NE India and is a painter, designer and weaver. The piece above is a tapestry made from cotton, wool and hemp and is abstract in nature. His inspriration come from the way we live in and with the natural world.

I loved the texture in this piece.

Smriti Dixit - Savage Flower - 2022

Smriti Dixit, based in  Mumbai, India uses recycling in her work.  The piece shown above is made by handknitting plastic ties from the fashion industry.  We are told that she likes to give visibility to the techniques and proceses of women's work.  This work has been rendered invisible by the patriarchy which still see a division between labour in the home (female) and labour in the workplace (male).  

I was fascinated by the innovative use of this waste product and how it was put together.

Ujjal Dey - Medioli 1 - 2022

Ujjal Dey is based in Santiniketan, India.  Fascinated by colour, he creates his own natural dyes and pigments from locally available sources. He colours his fabric using handpainting, dyeing, resist, and print making techniques to create large wallhangings.  

I found his work vibrant and striking.

Bhasha Chakrabati - Marketing Distress (detail) - 2019

Basha Chakrabati lives and works in New Haven, USA. She critically examines the global production of garments and the aesthetics of distressed clothes.  I loved this project which was mostly detailed through photographs although also included receipts and mended jeans.  For this project, she bought a series of jeans that had been distressed showing rips and holes, mended them and then returned the to the retailer for a refund on the basis that they were unsuitable. This was all documented through photos (before and after the mends - see above) and receipts.  She was able to get refunds from all but one of the retailers.  The one who refused said she had devalued the product saying she had "damaged" the jeans and they were "unsaleable".

I thought this was hilarious.  I know that ripped or torn clothing can be seen as worthless but deliberately damaged clothing has recently had a certain amount of cachet from designer labels through to the High St.  My own opinion is that this is a ludicrous trend,  insulting not only to the buyers of these products but also to the people who naturally have this clothing through wear and can't afford anything else.  As a fan of mending, both visible and invisible, I thought Chakrabati was adding significant value to the jeans she returned.  I thought the whole project was excellent in highlighting what a ridiculous world fashion can be.

Yasmin Jahan Nupur - I dreamed about walking in the sky - 2019

Yasmin Jahan Nupur is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh and is interested in the ecological and community aspects of life which I think the two pieces I have chosen to show here, illustrate perfectly.  I chose these two because they particularly resonated with me.

Her work is on handwoven and hand dyed muslin with embroidered cotton text.  There were a series of panels throughout the exhibition with text in English, Bengali and Persian.  She hopes to increase understanding between people of different backgrounds.

Shrujan Living and Learning Design Centre 

I am finishing with a piece of traditional textile work from Kutch.  The Shrujan Living and Learning Design Centre is in Kutch, Gujarat, NW India and is a dedicated museum and studio for the living crafts of the area.  It has an extensive textile archive.  The organisation works with many communities and artisans to keep these skills alive and help them earn a decent living.

This silk panel was made up of hand embroidered squares each representing a different community in Kutch, who can be identified by their stitched motifs.  I really admired the skill and detail in this piece.  This is something traditionalists will particularly enjoy studying.

I really loved this exhibition.  I think we are more used to seeing traditional textiles from South Asia so it was particularly interesting to see examples of the contemporary textile art South Asian artists are producing.  I haven't featured all the artists or all the work of the artists I have featured. If you want to see everything - go visit, there's still time!

The Whitaker has a carpark, a nice cafe (good scones!) and a small shop.  It also has a permanent collection which is worth your time too!

The British Textile Biennial was great.  I didn't get to see everything but what I did, I have blogged about (see my 2 previous blogposts), and you can read about those exhibitions and the rest on the BTB website as well.  I think the BTB was an amazing organisational feat, with a lot of thought provoking material and interesting techniques in a slew of venues across Lancashire only one of which I'd visited before.  A definite date for the diary in 2 years time!

British Textile Biennial - Lancashire 2023 - Part 2

#End_of_empire - Eva Sajovic

#End_of_empire - Eva Sajovic

#End_of_empire - Eva Sajovic
Inside Column, Knitted Words, My Word, Yarns

This is Part 2 of my run through of the British Textile Biennial and I'm starting with Eva Sajovic's #End_of_Empire exhibition at Nelson Technology Centre.  This exhibition was recommended to me at one of the other exhibitions I visited and I didn't think I'd be able to fit it in but I'm so glad I did.  The exhibition comprised a number of machine knitted doric columns with imagery taken from the Parthenon.  You can walk inside the columns and trigger a soundscape which was achieved in collaboration with musician and artist, Nicola Privato. Sajovic's work looks at colonialism, the role of the artist in envisaging alternative futures, and the use of artificial intelligence.  Here the imagery of imposing stone in phallic form is reimagined as soft textiles suggesting an alternative feminine future.  The work has also been achieved by involving the local community, as well as working with  Nicola Privato, in developing the imagery and sounds in relation to project prompts.  

Sajovic combines old and new technology in her work.  A knitting machine from the 60s and 70s has been hacked to connect to a computer which will translate the pixels of imagery into knitting stitches and she uses AI to develop the soundscape.  In using and developing AI in her work and bringing it to an audience she hopes to promote better understanding of AI and the need to develop rules/ways to contain it for a better future.

Another aspect of the exhibition was to ask visitors to think of words that came to mind while looking round.  Then, under the guidance of Beth Claxton, who also helped to knit the columns, those visitors were able to knit their word on the knitting machine and take it away with them.  This was achieved by the participant handwriting the word which was photographed and imported into Photoshop where it could be edited to make it clearer.  Next it was imported into a program that would convert it to a knitting pattern for the knitting machine based on the pixels making up the word.  The participant could choose colours from the wool available to generate their word.  It was all done amazingly quickly and Beth made the process seem very easy.  I chose the word "Surprise" which I was able to take away as a reminder of this amazing exhibition.

Christine Borland - Projection Cloth

Christine Borland's exhibition had 2 elements to it.  Firstly she had woven a projection cloth made of fustian - a fabric with a cotton warp and a linen weft, historically associated with Lancashire.  The flax for the project was grown by Borland and others.  The cotton came from Malawi.  Borland hand wove the fustian in the Cruck Barn at Pendle Heritage Centre on a loom built into the barn's structure.  This was then used as a screen onto which 4 films were projected that detailed the process of growing and spinning the flax and the cotton.  Unfortunately I didn't have time to watch all of these but you can access the narrative of the films here. Links to witchcraft through the textile practices of spinning and weaving and imagery of old hags as witches resonate with the local area where 10 women and 1 man were hanged for witchcraft in 1612.

You can listen to the Cloth Cultures podcast where Eva Sajovic and Christine Borland talk to writer, broadcaster and fashion historian, Amber Butchart, about their work here.

Back at Blackburn Cathedral, Material Memory was a very moving exhibition about textile items that resonated with members of the public and had been loaned by them.  They included items of celebration, tradition, sport, music, handicraft and more.  It was fascinating selection of memories held in cloth.  Here is a small but wide ranging sample of them with a brief description explaining their meaning...

Caroline Eccles - Embroidery Journal 2022

Caroline Eccles embroidered an ikon to represent each day in 2022.

Blackburn Rovers Football Shirt Selection - The Robinson Family
1980s to 2023

The Robinson family have a vast collection of Blackburn Rovers Football shirts which hold many memories from away games in Manchester to trips to Everton where the whole family were given match worn shirts.  They include shirts worn by legends Alan Shearer and Graham Le Saux.

Knitted Armadillo - Janet Ross - 1980s

Janet Ross was a keen knitter from the 1980s onwards when she bought a Patricia Roberts pattern book containing an armadillo pattern.  Twenty five years later she knitted this Armadillo to keep busy and stay positive whilst having chemotherapy for a cancer diagnosis.  She used up lots of scraps from her former knitting projects.

Embellished Bridal Outfit - Zara Saghir - 1992

This was Zara Saghir's mother's (Ghazala Khatoon's) wedding dress.  Ghazala had an arranged marriage and travelled to a small village in Azad Kashmir to marry Zara's father, Saghir Hussein.  Her pink wedding dress, unlike the traditional red bridal attire caused quite a stir and she remembers feeling like a film star on her wedding day.

New Order Blackburn Banner - Mark Tennant
1989/90

This banner connects to Blackburn's acid house music scene of the late 80s and early 90s.  Factory records held a weekly Hacienda club night with a Hacienda Blackburn banner hanging outside the venue.  This banner fell into Mark Tennant's hands and as a fan of New Order, whose sound was a big part of the Blackburn and Manchester club scene, he repurposed it to say New Order Blackburn.  The banner had many outings.  This particular banner is the third reincarnation of the original as Mark continues his love of Blackburn's musical legacy.

Ghanaian Kente Cloth - Joyce Addai-Davis 2007

Owning a Ghanaian Kente cloth is a privilege showing a respect for family heritage and wealth. Joyce's grandma bought her Kente cloth in 1962 to mark her coming of age and the birth of her first child.  Sixteen years ago Joyce bought her own Kente cloth from the same town, Bonwire, Ghana that her Grandma's came from to honour her family tradition.  She keeps hers in its original condition.

Dressing Gown - Pat Flemming - 1940s

Pat Flemming's mother made this embroidered dressing gown in the 1940s.  Sadly Pat's mother died when Pat was 21.

The other exhibition in the Cathedral was Common Threads.  These embroidered panels were stitched by three groups of women in Pendle, Burnley and Karachi introduced by textile artist, Alice Kettle, who has a long-standing relationship with the Ra’ana Liaquat Craftsmen’s Colony (RLCC) in Karachi where local women produce beautiful up-cycled products.  During the pandemic Alice Kettle met with RLCC online to stitch images of home and belonging.  She then arranged for Lancashire women from the South Asian diaspora to meet with those from Karachi online to share stories from home.  Participants from Community Arts by ZK in Pendle and the Bangladesh Welfare Association in Burnley then worked with artist Rabia Sharif to stitch their stories too...

Common Threads

Common Threads - detail

Common Threads

Common Threads - detail

Ibukun Baldwin's Funufactury at Prism Contemporary in Blackburn was a denim fest.  Using waste from the denim line at the Cookson & Clegg factory in Blackburn, Baldwin created a denim room populated by some Funfacturers who embody a joyful making spirit and encourage you to stitch and fix and add to the denim environment.  Two Afghan women refugees - Palwasha and Razma were hired to assist her.  

Ibukun Baldwin - Funufacturer

Ibukun Baldwin - Funufactury

Ibukun Baldwin - Funufactury

Baldwin is also the founder of the fashion brand Bukky Baldwin Ltd who provide training and work experience for marginalised groups.  These people may not have the qualifications and language skills needed for other areas of employment but have the creativity and skills that are needed in Baldwin's company.

You can listen to the Cloth Cultures podcast where Ibukun Baldwin talks to writer, broadcaster and fashion historian, Amber Butchart, about her work here.

Moving on to Queen Street Mill Textile Museum, Burnley, we have Threadbare Narratives by Madhu.  Threadbare Narratives alludes to the dark history of the Lancashire cotton industry.  This exhibition is the culmination of a year long project where Madhu has visited museums in Lancashire, London and Manchester to see Kalamkari textiles and Chintz from South India looking at the block printing and natural dyeing that defines them.

Indian Chintz was a popular clothing choice in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.  The British wanted to capture these markets using the Lancashire skills in spinning and weaving.  As a result in the 1700s the Calico Acts were passed which effectively banned the import of most cotton goods into England.  Raw cotton was imported to Britain to kickstart the mechanised cotton manufacturing industry here.  The result was the collapse of India's overseas markets, and a slow loss of skills and heritage there.

Entangled - Madhu
Indian handloon & Khadi cotton dyed with Cutch and yarn from Queen St Mill

Madhu has made small talismanic pieces using hand stitch and Khadi cotton from India and calico and discarded threads from Queen Street Mill bringing together the entangled histories of Britain and India

Various Pieces - Madhu

Khadi is a handwoven cotton.  It's production was championed by Mahatma Gandhi in a bid for independence from British rule, self-sufficiency and national pride. This material is of personal significance to Madhu, in memory of her father who was an ardent Gandhian and chose Khadi and handloom cottons for his clothing.

The final exhibition that I am going to talk about here is Litmus by Natalie Linney also at Queen Street Mill Textile Museum.  The pieces exhibited were created during an artist residency earlier this year working with the Cottonpolis Collective (for details of this from the BTB website see below) and the Geography Laboratories. The exhibition consists of a series of large textile pieces that have been buried, suspended and submerged at 6 sites across Greater Manchester that were important to the cotton industry.  The cotton used in this exhibition was woven at the National Trust's Quarry Bank Mill with raw cotton imported from Louisiana, USA.  The fabric has been marked by microbial action and contaminants at the six sites as well as being dyed or stained by the earth and plant matter there.  The team have begun to stitch into the fabric to explore ideas of repair and connection.  There is an accompanying soundscape created by ZOIR which reflects the natural environment and industrial machinery at the selected sites.

The burying and unearthing of cotton to determine soil health is associated with the Shirley Institute, a centre for cotton research in Manchester.  The resulting amount of cellulose decomposition can be an indicator of processes going on in the soil.  It is also a metaphor for revealing troubling histories hidden from view.

Litmus - Natalie Linney

Litmus - Natalie Linney

Litmus (detail with stitching) - Natalie Linney

This exhibition was in the Weaving Shed where the number of looms was phenomenal.  You can glimpse them in the images above.  The noise must have been deafening!

The Cottonopolis Collective (Info from BTB website)

As the global epicentre of cotton production in the nineteenth century, Manchester became known as ‘Cottonopolis’. Though often celebrated as a city of innovation, Manchester’s cotton industry had far-reaching and problematic impacts. Manchester and towns across Lancashire were key hubs in the expansion of the United Kingdom’s colonial aspirations.

The Cottonopolis Collective is led by Dr Aditya Ramesh and Prof. Alison Browne at The University of Manchester. It brings together historians, human and physical geographers, social and environmental scientists, cultural organisations and artists to interrogate Manchester’s legacies as the first industrialising city. This research questions the expansion of global cotton markets through environmental science, which ultimately provided the cultural and scientific authority that underpinned colonial expansion, frontier agriculture, and colonial urbanisation across the globe.

Delving into the social and environmental histories of cotton unsettles the celebration of Manchester as a city of science and innovation. It begins to untangle the many ways that industrial Manchester impacted people and environments both near and far, as well as questioning the environmental knowledges it created.

You only have until 29 October to see these exhibitions. Do go if you can.  

My final blogpost about the British Textile Biennial will be about the Fragments Of Our Time Exhibition at the Whitaker Gallery in Rawtenstall but you have until 10 December 2023 to see that.