Create/Elevate at Harewood House

Stitched Detail from Common Threads

 

On until 20 October at Harewood House (inside and outside), Create/Elevate is the third Harewood Biennial and celebrates the power of craft to inspire people, collaborate and imagine new worlds.  Sixteen British and international artists have their work on show within three interwoven themes: New Narratives which offer fresh perspectives on Harewood's collections and history, The Use of Land addressing issues of local and global ecology and Nourish which explores the conviviality of sharing food and knowledge.  

The Harewood estate was founded on money from the West Indian sugar trade. The money came from owning plantations, slaves, ships and warehouses and thus is steeped in colonialism. “I believe very strongly that we can change things in the present, but for better or for worse there is nothing that any of us can do about history and the past.” David Lascelles, Earl of Harewood.  We are told that "The contemporary exhibits provide new ways to engage with the centuries of craft artistry embedded within the interiors of Harewood House. Create/Elevate shows how artists and makers work collectively to affect societal change and promote social equity."

Common Threads
Collaboratively embroidered textile panels
Themes: New Narratives & Nourish

A couple of the exhibits were part of the British Textile Biennial (BTB) which took place in Lancashire in 2023 which you can read more about here, here & here. Common Threads was one of these. Part of both the New Narratives & Nourish themes here at Harewood, Common Threads was stitched by women from the South Asian community in Burnley, Leeds, Pendle & Karachi, Pakistan, introduced by textile artist, Alice Kettle. Participants shared stories of family and home and working with artist Rabia Sharif, stitched their experiences of these into panels...

Common Threads
Collaboratively embroidered textile panels
Themes: New Narratives & Nourish

Rebecca Chesney, another BTB exhibitor, made her windsock installation from tents discarded after music festivals.  She sees it as an indicator of current conditions and a barometer of the climate crisis.  I was particulary pleased to see this, as I hadn't managed to see it at the BTB.  It is an indicator of the amount of waste left behind after festivals..

Rebecca Chesney - Conditions at Present
Windsocks made from reclaimed tent fabric
Theme: The Use of Land

Jakup Ferri's exhibit was co-created with women artisans from Albania, Kosovo, Burkina Faso & Suriname. We are told that the installation supports carpet making and embroidery as techniques of inclusion, coherence and community building.  It was wonderfully colourful and quirky..

Jakup Ferri - The Monumentality of the Everday
Handwoven carpets, embroidered textiles & paintings
Theme: New Narratives

Jakup Ferri - The Monumentality of the Everday
Handwoven carpets, embroidered textiles & paintings
Theme: New Narratives

Jakup Ferri - The Monumentality of the Everday
Handwoven carpets, embroidered textiles & paintings
Theme: New Narratives

Emefa Cole is honouring the spirit of enslaved Africans through her Baobab tree sculptures.  This African tree is revered for its ability to survive in the harshest conditions and is a great source of natural health remedies..

Emefa Cole - Untitled
Wax-cast Bronze Sculptures
Themes: New Narratives & The Use of the Land

Rosa Harradine's brushes and brooms explore the notions of functionality, beauty & experimentation...

Rosa Harradine - Fibre & Form
Handmade brushes & brooms
Themes: New Narratives & The Use of the Land

Rosa Harradine - Fibre & Form
Handmade brushes & brooms
Themes: New Narratives & The Use of the Land

The design of Mani Kambo's block printed wallpaper comes from her research into the global exchange of ideas and styles across Harewood's collections and interiors...

Mani Kambo - Layered Legacies
Hand block printed wallpaper
Theme: New Narratives

Britto Arts Trust's large Rasad (meaning: ration) installation reimagines a small town Bangladeshi street market and includes handcrafted objects that point to colonialism, economic extraction and exploitation...

Britto Arts Trust - Rasad (detail)
Ceramics, textiles & metal produced collaboratively in workshops in Dhaka
Themes: New Narratives, The Use of the Land & Nourish

Britto Arts Trust - Rasad (detail)
Ceramics, textiles & metal produced collaboratively in workshops in Dhaka
Themes: New Narratives, The Use of the Land & Nourish

Britto Arts Trust - Rasad (detail)
Ceramics, textiles & metal produced collaboratively in workshops in Dhaka
Themes: New Narratives, The Use of the Land & Nourish

BEIT Collective collaborated with Lebanese designer Hamza Mekdad and craftspeople based in Lebanon to create items that reflect everyday culinary and domestic rituals.  The use of the Corinthian capital (top part of classical columns) is a common decorative element in Lebanese vessels..

BEIT Collective - The Essence of Home
Crafted homeware objects exploring the importance of the classical Corinthian order in Lebanese domestic life
Themes: New Narratives & Nourish

There is of course lots more to the exhibition and apart from that there is Harewood House itself which has marvellous ceilings...

Decorative Ceiling - Harewood House

 

and amazing grounds...

Walled Garden _ Harewood

View of the Lake - Harewood

There's plenty of parking at Harewood and lots of grounds (+ playground) to wander through, the house to visit, refreshments in the cafes and, of course, a shop.  Art Fund members get a 50% discount on ticket prices.