BTB25 Digital Brochure
If you haven’t got a physical version of our brochure to hand, you can find a high resolution digital version here!
Lucy + Jorge Orta
Homo Mondialis
From intricate pieces in embroidery appliqué, to sculpture and immersive video installations, this sweeping survey of the Ortas’ work crosses continents from the Antarctic to the Amazon, reflecting onhumanity’s impact and relationship with the planet.
Wed - Sun
11am - 5pm
Jamie Holman
Machine Made Fabric
Inspired by the futuristic inventiveness of Brian Mercer, artist Jamie Holman, worked with young people at Blackburn Youth Zone to create a film which is presented on the state-of-the-art screen built into the new extension of the building, The Fusebox.
Wed - Sun
11am - 5pm
Dhaqan Collective
The Aqal (House of Weaving Songs)
Somali artists and producers, Ayan Cilmi and Fozia Ismail, known as the Dhaqan Collective, present a participatory soundscape using Somali nomadic weaving traditions to connect us to ancient cultural practices that can inspire us to build new futures.
Wed - Sun
11am - 5pm
Godfrey Katende & Salford Slow Fashion
Woven Worlds
Salford Slow Fashion (UK) have worked with Godfrey Katende of IGC Fashion (Uganda) to create a distinctive fashion collection that celebrates bark cloth – an ancient and culturally significant Ugandan fabric.
Wed - Sun
11am - 5pm
Materials Library
The Materials Library explores the origins of fibres that have long clothed and connected us.
Wed - Sun
11am - 5pm
Sairo
Fashion Evolution: 2075
Fashion Promotion students in their final year at University of Lancashire present the future of fashion retail.
Wed - Sun
11am - 5pm
åbäke & Le Cercle du S226erpent bleu
RROOUUBBAAIIXX 2033
From Lancashire to Northern France, åbäke & Le Cercle du S226erpent Bleu from Roubaix, trace the story of a vanished football team in a fictional story that shows the enduring power of collective action in the sport, rather than bitter rivalry.
Wed - Sun
11am - 4pm
Christian Jeffery
Comfort Ye One Another
Christian Jeffery creates beautiful, hand-painted football shirts. Taking inspiration from cult players, iconic kits, fan culture, local traditions and historical artefacts, his paintings often incorporate plants, flowers and architecture associated with a certain team or city.
Wed - Sun
11am - 4pm
OOF
100% UNOFFICIAL: The Fabric of Fandom
This exhibition explores how innovative football supporters have subverted textiles to express their individuality and undying dedication.
Wed - Sun
11am - 4pm
Porfirio Gutiérrez
Agency
Based in California, Zapotec artist Porfirio Gutiérrez creates work that explores the contemporary and evolving experience of Native Americans.
Wed - Sun
10am - 4pm
(Late on Thu until 8pm)
Melanie Smith & Patricio Villarreal
Tixinda
In this collaboration, the two artists spent time with a Mixtec community in Oaxaca following an age-old, seasonal ritual.
Wed - Sun
10am - 4pm
(Late on Thu until 8pm)
Sarah Rosalena
Red Shift Spiral, Eight Pointed Star and Rose Star
Based in Los Angeles, Sarah Rosalena works between traditional craft traditions and emerging technology, breaking boundaries through her hybrid forms rooted in Indigenous cosmologies, re-interpreted through digital tools and her hand.
Wed - Sun
10am - 4pm
(Late on Thu until 8pm)
Tania Candiani
Centecpanxiquipilli Nocheztl, La ruta de la grana cochinilla and Campo carmín
Based in Mexico City and rooted in specific geographies and territorial histories, Tania Candiani creates work in which body, land, labour and ancestral knowledge are inextricable.
Wed - Sun
10am - 4pm
(Late on Thu until 8pm)
Dhara Mehrotra
Filamentous
Mehrotra’s site-specific installation celebrates mycelium networks that are the circulatory systems of earth.
Wed - Sun
10am - 4pm
(Late on Thu until 8pm)
Emelia Hewitt
As It Happens
Emelia Hewitt undertook a summer residency at the Whitaker to develop work within her photographic and image making practice.
Wed - Sun
10am - 4pm
(Late on Thu until 8pm)
Sally Hirst
Warped
Artist Sally Hirst shares the stories of disabled mill workers William Dodd, Bridget Lyons, and Mary Brown, alongside her own experiences, through weave and sculpture.
Thu - Sun
11am - 4pm
Textile Culture Net
Future Past
Future Past is an online exhibition via Instagram presented by Textile Culture Net (TCN) that brings together artists from across the globe whose work explores the often conflicted relationship between humans and the universe through textiles, along a sliding scale of power and resistance TCN is an international network of four textile institutions
The Synthetic Revolution
Curated by academic and artist Claire Wellesley-Smith and fashion historian and broadcaster Amber Butchart, The Synthetic Revolution explores the origins of this story, tracing it back to 1941 when the drawing of a polymer into the first polyester fibre went on to position it at the heart of the modern textile industry.
Wed - Sun
12 - 4.30pm
Ivan Forde
Eternal Seas
Aligned with textile company Bionic Yarn’s repurposing of waste from coastal communities and marine ecosystems to create high performance textiles, artist Ivan Forde uses this material to depict new poetic visions of fictional and real bodies of water across the world.
Wed - Sun
12 - 4.30pm
Clayton Creatives
Why We Wander Over Yonder
Produced by The Clayton Creatives, a group of local residents in Clayton-le-Moors, this exhibition celebrates and explores their shared stories, personal triumphs and losses, journeys and explorations.
Wed - Sat
11am - 4pm
Pioneers of the Material World
From peak to precinct, summit to street
This exhibition shows how performance clothing that emerged at the beginning of the last century for survival in the most extreme environments, clothing pioneers from Amelia Earhart to Edmund Hillary, from the Antarctic to the Himalayas, was later redefined by northern climbers, giving rise to brands like Berghaus and Rab, all rooted in northern ingenuity and material expertise.
Wed - Sun
12 - 4.30pm
Aitor Throup
FROM THE MOOR
Internationally renowned artist/designer, Aitor Throup, presents an immersive multi-media event on the Biennial’s final weekend,
Thu - Sun
Ninon Ardisson
LOAM
Artist and games designer, Ninon Ardisson, speculates how textile production in the 20th century might have developed differently if informed by local environments rather than military and industrial demands and how biological materials could shape a different trajectory for innovation.
Wed - Sun
12 - 4pm
Re:Fashion Challenge 2025
The idea of creating Utopia fuelled the future visions of the last century, feeding the realms of science fiction and, in turn, being inspired by its creations.
Wed - Sun
12 - 4pm
Sarah Lee
Riding a Bike in a Flight Suit
Sarah Lee presents an epic embroidery work exploring histories of manufacturing companies in Lancashire who produced high performance fabrics using innovative techniques.
Wed - Sun
12 - 4pm
Sarah Rosalena
Standard Candle and Expanding Axis
Rosalena works between traditional craft traditions and emerging technology, breaking boundaries through her hybrid forms rooted in indigenous cosmologies, re-interpreted through digital tools and her hand.
Wed - Sat
12 - 4pm
Crystal Bennes
When Computers Were Women
These four woven pieces were developed from a residency at CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research), the home of the Large Hadron Collider.
Wed - Sat
12 - 4pm
Tim Smith
Weaving the Future
This multi-media installation, by photographer and filmmaker Tim Smith, explores how the innovative spirit that powered the textile industry over the last three centuries is driving a new revolution in the 21st century.
Wed - Sat
12 - 4pm
Alexis Maxwell
Memory Fabric
An immersive, sci-fi-inspired multimedia installation based on an imagined fabric that holds the memories of local people and the land around Pendle.
Thu - Sun
11am - 4pm
Future Fashion Landscapes
Future Fashion Landscapes is a collaboration between Centre for Sustainable Fashion, University of the Arts London and the South East England and South West England Fibresheds, focusing on fibre production and biodiversity enhancement.
Tue - Sun
10am - 4pm
Anna Clough
Fold Anew
Anna Clough’s outdoor sculpture, based on the traditional sheep fold, celebrates sheep farming and fleece that have a long legacy in Lancashire.
Tue - Sun
10am - 4pm
Kate O'Farrell and Rob St John
Are You Lost?
Are You Lost? Is a multimedia installation from artists Kate O’Farrell and Rob St John.
Sat & Sun
10am - 4pm
Hannah Robson
Transformation
Hannah Robson presents a monumental work that responds to the Harris’s archive of the Courtauld Factory in Preston in the impressive newly opened spaces of the museum.
Mon-Sat, 9am–5pm
Thu, late until 9pm
Sun, 11am–4pm
The Textile Study Group
Seven Bags Full
A new group exhibition from the Textile Study Group a group of nationally and internationally recognised textile artists and tutors.
Thu - Sun
11am - 4pm
Margo Selby
Breathing Colour
BTB reaches Lancaster for the first time with Margo Selby’s beautiful textile hanging, Breathing Colour, a celebratory textile installation, immersive in colour, form and sound, joyful and uplifting.
Thu - Sun
10am - 4pm
*1-4pm on Fri
Lucy Orta Artist Talk
Conversations in Creativity
Join artist Lucy Orta and BTB artistic director Laurie Peake, for a walk around conversation exploring her exhibition, Homo Mondialis.
11am - 12pm
Lucy Orta Artist Talk
Conversations in Creativity
Join artist Lucy Orta and BTB artistic director Laurie Peake, for a walk around conversation exploring her exhibition, Homo Mondialis.
2 - 3pm
Dhara Mehrotra: Meet the Artist
Meet BTB25 artist Dharah Mehrotra at her new exhibition Filamentous
10.30 - 11.10am
Dhara Mehrotra: Meet the Artist
Meet BTB25 artist Dharah Mehrotra at her new exhibition Filamentous
11.30am - 12.10pm
The Nature of Textiles: Keynote Address & Artist Talks
Conversations in Creativity
BTB is delighted to welcome author, activist and Fair Trade Fashion entrepreneur Carry Somers to give the keynote lecture to this year’s programme.
1 - 4pm
Accessible Artist Tours of 'Warped'
with Sally Hirst and Venture Arts
Join Venture Arts studio artist Sally Hirst for some drop in accessible tours of her exhibition Warped.
1 & 2.30 pm
Sci-Fi Shorts & Spoken Word
with Pendle Social Cinema & Alexis Maxwell
Join us for a collection of sci-fi shorts curated by BTB artist Alexis Maxwell.
6.30 - 9pm
BTB25 Talk: Innovations in 19th & 20th Century Textiles
with Rachel Midgley
A talk exploring textile innovations of the 19th and 20th centuries, followed by a behind the scenes tour of the collection stores.
10.30am - 12.30pm
Stars of CCTV: The Performative Male Football Hooliganism as Textile Heritage
Conversations in Creativity
A panel discussion exploreing the unlikely intersections between the British Textile Biennial and the entangled histories of football hooliganism, textiles, fashion, design, and performance, and how these forces have shaped wider culture.
2.30pm - 4pm
Venture Arts Artist Talk
with Emelia Hewitt & Sally Hirst
Join Venture Arts studio artists Emelia Hewitt and Sally Hirst in conversation with their facilitators Laura Nathan and Martin Livesey, alongside Katherine Long, Head of Creative Development at Venture Arts.
11.30am - 12.15pm
Accessible Artist Tours of 'Warped'
with Sally Hirst and Venture Arts
Join Venture Arts studio artist Sally Hirst for some drop in accessible tours of her exhibition Warped.
1 & 2.30 pm
The Future of Fleece - Panel Discussion
Conversations in Creativity
Join our panel speakers to discuss the crucial role farming plays in the textile industry across the North of England.
2 - 4pm
Sarah Lee: Artist at Work
Join Venture Arts studio artist Sarah Lee as she works live in the gallery, stitching into her piece Riding a Bike in a Flight Suit. She will be accompanied by textiles facilitator Laura Nathan.
1 - 3pm
River Blue Film Screening
with Pendle Social Cinema
Join us at The Whitaker for a screening of the 2017 documentary, River Blue.
7.30-8.30pm
The Future of Colour: Panel Discussion
Conversations in Creativity
Taking place in the iconic Ashton Memorial, the site of Margo Selby’s large-scale textile work Breathing Colour, we invite you to join us and a panel of experts to explore the future of colour.
10am - 12.30pm
The Man in the White Suit Film Screening - with Pendle Social Cinema
with Pendle Social Cinema
Join us at Haworth Art Gallery for a film screening of The Man in the White Suit.
2 - 4.30pm
Hannah Robson Artist Talks
Join artist Hannah Robson who will talk you through the making of her epic textile work – Transformation.
12 & 1.30pm
Everest Film Screening - with Pendle Social Cinema
with Pendle Social Cinema
Join us at Towneley Hall for a film screening of Everest.
2 - 4.30pm
BTB25 By Bus
Starting in Blackburn
Join us for a bus tour of selected BTB25 exhibitions and venues.
10am - 4.45pm
BTB25 By Bus
Starting in Blackburn
Join us for a bus tour of selected BTB25 exhibitions and venues.
10.30am - 4.45pm
BTB25 By Bus
Starting in Burnley
Join us for a bus tour of selected BTB25 exhibitions and venues.
11.30am - 4.45pm
BTB25 By Bus
Starting in Preston
Join us for a bus tour of selected BTB25 exhibitions and venues.
10am - 4.45pm
BTB25 By Bus
Starting in Burnley
Join us for a bus tour of selected BTB25 exhibitions and venues.
11.30am - 5.30pm
Weaving Workshop
with Caitlin Binks
Come and explore our North West history by trying your hand at weaving, with artist and heritage machinery technician Caitlin Binks.
11am-3pm
Alternative Weaving
with The Bureau
Join artists at The Bureau every Saturday in October to experiment with creating new fabrics from different combinations of discarded materials.
11am-3pm
Wadi Hanifah Flower Making
with Bev Lamey
Inspired by Lucy Orta’s artwork, join Bev Lamey to create handmade flowers
11am-3pm
Wadi Hanifah Flower Making
with Bev Lamey
Inspired by Lucy Orta’s artwork, join Bev Lamey to create handmade flowers
11am-3pm
Woven Wool Bracelet Workshop
with Helen Davies
Join knitting artist, Helen Davies for a fun filled workshop creating woven woollen bracelets.
11am-3pm
Weaving Workshop
with Caitlin Binks and Julie Whitehouse
Come and join us in the amazing, industrial setting of Queen Street Mill to try your hand at weaving
11am-3pm
Re-Cut the Future
with Emily Tonge
Re-Cut the Future is a drop-in collage workshop where visitors creatively reimagine iconic garments from the Pioneers of the Material World exhibition.
11am-3pm
Cyanotype Workshop
with Orrin Saint-Pierre
Come and learn how to make Cyanotypes, one of the oldest photographic printmaking processes.
11am-3pm
Alternative Weaving
with The Bureau
Join artists at The Bureau every Saturday in October to experiment with creating new fabrics from different combinations of discarded materials.
11am-3pm
Embroidering Bark Cloth (Lubugo)
with Salford Slow Fashion
Come and experience stitching into Lubugo (bark cloth) during BTB25.
11am-3pm
Natural Dyeing
with Kirsteen McGregor
Join Heritage Textile Specialist, Kirsteen McGregor and experiment with natural dyes and botanical pigments on a range of fibres and material mediums
11am-3pm
Alternative Weaving
with The Bureau
Join artists at The Bureau every Saturday in October to experiment with creating new fabrics from different combinations of discarded materials.
11am-3pm
Origami Workshop
with Sharon Brown
A colourful origami butterfly workshop taking inspiration from the work of British Textile Biennial artist Margo Selby.
11am-3pm
Origami Workshop
with Sharon Brown
A colourful origami butterfly workshop taking inspiration from the work of British Textile Biennial artist Margo Selby.
11am-3pm
Surface Pattern Workshop
with Fawziyah Raja
Inspired by the curated artwork on display, participants will be guided to identify shapes and patterns that resonate with them, culminating in the creation of a primary motif stamp, cut from a foam sheet to create a stamp effect.
12-4pm
Alternative Weaving
with The Bureau
Join artists at The Bureau every Saturday in October to experiment with creating new fabrics from different combinations of discarded materials.
11am-3pm
Willow Workshop
with Cherry Chung
Join willow weaving artist, Cherry Chung for a willow workshop at Darwen Market.
10am-1pm
Zarzo Basket Making
with Cherry Chung
Join willow weaving artist, Cherry Chung for a basket making workshop at Darwen Market.
1pm-3.30pm
BTB25 Study Visit: Innovations in 19th Century Textiles
with Gawthorpe Textiles Collection
Discover 19th century innovations in textile production, with the chance to study antique costume, lace, patchwork, embroidery and more.
10am-3.30pm
Den Building
with Chris Harman
Join us for a one off workshop on King William Street in Blackburn. Get hands on designing and building your own den.
11am-3pm
Origami Workshop
with Sharon Brown
A colourful origami butterfly workshop taking inspiration from the work of British Textile Biennial artist Margo Selby.
11am-3pm
Mini Banner-Making Workshop
with Cath Ford
For as long as textiles have existed, people have used them to express who they are and what matters to them. Join artist and maker Cath Ford for a relaxed, hands-on workshop where you’ll explore identity, storytelling, and self-expression through fabric.
11am-3pm
Story Craft Theatre – Patch Works: A Sensory Puppet Play
with Culturapedia
Meet Patch; a scruffy, loveable puppet stitched together from colourful scraps of old fabrics like nylon, polyester and Gore-Tex.
11.30am & 2pm
Weaving Workshop
with Caitlin Binks
Come and explore our North West history by trying your hand at weaving, with artist and heritage machinery technician Caitlin Binks.
11am-3pm
Natural Dyeing
with Kirsteen McGregor
Join Heritage Textile Specialist, Kirsteen McGregor and experiment with natural dyes and botanical pigments on a range of fibres and material mediums
11am-3pm
Step Into the Future of Fashion
with Sairo
Step into the future of fashion at this groundbreaking two-day workshop where creativity meets cutting-edge AI technology. Join us for an immersive, hands-on experience that explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the fashion landscape.
11am-3pm
Origami Workshop
with Sharon Brown
A colourful origami butterfly workshop taking inspiration from the work of British Textile Biennial artist Margo Selby.
11am-3pm
Step Into the Future of Fashion
with Sairo
Step into the future of fashion at this groundbreaking two-day workshop where creativity meets cutting-edge AI technology. Join us for an immersive, hands-on experience that explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the fashion landscape.
11am-3pm
Somali Tapestry Workshop
with the Dhaqan Collective
Join Fozia and Ayan of the Dhaqan Collective for a weaving workshop creating Somali tapestries.
11am-1pm
Natural Dyeing
with Kirsteen McGregor
Join Heritage Textile Specialist, Kirsteen McGregor and experiment with natural dyes and botanical pigments on a range of fibres and material mediums
11am-3pm
Scratchbuilt Theatre - Magical Market Stall
with Culturapedia
Join Culturapedia for a unique experience that combines puppetry, street performances, clowning and a whole lot of fun.
11.30am & 2pm
Yarn Winding Workshop
with Hannah Robson
Yarn windings are mini textile artworks created by wrapping and placing thread around card. Through the process, you enjoy the feeling of the materials in your hands and appreciate the colours, textures and magic of yarns.
11am-3pm
Story Craft Theatre – Patch Works: A Sensory Puppet Play
with Culturapedia
Meet Patch; a scruffy, loveable puppet stitched together from colourful scraps of old fabrics like nylon, polyester and Gore-Tex.
11.30am & 2pm
Alternative Weaving
with The Bureau
Join artists at The Bureau every Saturday in October to experiment with creating new fabrics from different combinations of discarded materials.
11am-3pm
Scratchbuilt Theatre - Magical Market Stall
with Culturapedia
Join Culturapedia for a unique experience that combines puppetry, street performances, clowning and a whole lot of fun.
11.30am & 2pm
Day of the Dead Mask Making Workshop
with Sharon Brown
Inspired by the British Textile Biennial exhibition of work by 4 Mexican artists, we celebrate ‘Dia de Muertos’ by creating ‘La Catrina’ inspired skeleton masks.
11am-3pm