Material Memory (2023)

Curation and Production

British Textile Biennial 2023 – The Politics of Cloth

The British Textile Biennial throws a spotlight on the nation’s creativity,  innovation and expression in textiles against the backdrop of the impressive infrastructure of the cotton industry in Pennine Lancashire. With its epic mills and grandiose civic architecture along the country’s longest waterway, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, the landscape tells the story of textiles. This biennial festival celebrates that story while showcasing its contemporary expression with the community that has textiles in its DNA.

BTB23 looks at the environmental and human costs of the textile industry at the service of fast fashion over the last two centuries and explores possible alternatives. In artist commissions, public conversations and international collaborations, BTB23 asks if the creation of cloth can be a regenerative act – regenerating nature and people.

Material Memory

Nothing holds memories better than fabric. Passed down through generations for commemoration or passed on for safe care in dangerous times, it is mobile, mendable and holds memories within its threads. Material Memory is a display of textile items, from football shirts to wedding dresses, loaned by members of the public, alongside the stories they tell.

Made precious by the care taken to keep them safe, the value placed on them by those who have prolonged their life and the deep connections they have created, sometimes across centuries and continents. Challenging the throw away culture of our time, this exhibition demonstrates the deeply human desire to hold the simplest things dear.

The artefacts were initially shared with us through organised roadshow events in Blackburn and surrounding localities, where we invited the community to share with us their beloved textiles and the important stories behind them. Narrowing down the entries was a challenge, but it was a real pleasure to present the selected stories in Blackburn Cathedral crypt and demonstrate the plurality of experiences in the town.