Lost in lace

Lost in Lace (exhibition and catalogue, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Oct. 2011–Feb. 2012) was the outcome of a three-year research project, extending my earlier inquiry for Textural Space (exhibition and catalogue, 2001). The project explores and develops the dialogue between contemporary cross-discipline approaches to lace, and current discourse concerning the divisions of space within the built environment – the role of the boundary/border in urban design (Sennett 2011; Lambertucci 2010). The research was placed within the context of Japanese notions of Ma and Hashi and the writings of Tschumi (1990), Rendell (2006), Ishigami (2010), Bachelard (1968) and Riley (1995). Within the UK, interest in lace as a vehicle for both art and design innovation is in the early stages (Bartlett, University College London 2005, Caruso St.John/Nottingham Contemporary 2009). Outside the UK there have been initiatives using the tradition and history of lace as a means of challenging and subverting preconceptions around function and use (Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting, USA, 2007, Kantlijnen, Belgium, 2008, Lace in Translation, USA, 2009, Love Lace, Australia, 2011). Lost in Lace brings together Eastern and Western understandings of the articulation of space, building upon the rich tradition of the relationship between lace and architecture. It aims to provide new insights into the ways in which we configure and negotiate the thresholds and boundaries we encounter as we move through space. The research investigates the material processes of making through interviews with artists, architects and relevant others. The exhibition and publication expanded the themes and ideas identified during the research through a series of architectonic installations developed in discussion between myself as curator, and each of the international cohort of exhibitors. Funding was provided by the Crafts Council, Arts Council England, Esmée Fairbairn, Culture Ireland, Embassy of Brazil, Japan Foundation, and Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

Tapestry: a narrative for our times

Two international exhibitions catalogue and conference, exploring the relevance of traditional Gobelin tapestry technique as a carrier of narrative reflecting the time of making. 1. Here & Now; 2. Weaving New Worlds

Cloth & memory {2}

Cloth & Memory 2 was a project that drew together and developed all the strands of my research, extending them into new areas – for me, for the artists involved, and for the partner institution and the general public. Cloth and Memory 2 was a site-sensitive exhibition located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Salts Mill, Saltaire, Yorkshire UK, which is also an anchor point in the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The owners of Salts Mill invited me to curate an exhibition linking the history of the Mill with contemporary textile practice. This represented a completely new development for the Mill. The exhibition consisted of 23 emerging and established international artists, who each, in collaboration with me, developed new work in response to the place. It was shown in the original Spinning Room, which at 168m x 16m was thought, when first built, to be the largest industrial room in the world. Apart from a new roof, it has not been restored or refurbished, and is not normally open to the public. Bradford has been described as the archetypal post-industrial city yet now has an increasing textile presence (see www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/sense_of_place/textiles_2.shtml). This exhibition of outstanding contemporary practice, generated in response to the industrial history of Bradford as exemplified by Salts Mill as a centre of excellence, represented a significant drawing together of past and present practice, at a moment of revitalisation of the textile industry in Yorkshire. Bradford is also identified as an area of low creative engagement, falling within the lowest 20% of engagement in local authority areas nationally (Ref: Active People data - 2009 and 2010). Siting the exhibition within Salts Mill (free entry, approx. 500,000 visitors p.a.) and its catchment area was an exceptional opportunity to introduce and develop a new audience for contemporary textile art

Kawaii: crafting the Japanese culture of cute

The exhibition 'Kawaii: crafting the Japanese culture of cute' brought together a group of Japanese artists who used traditional craft skills to translate, comment upon and engage with all aspects of kawaii. The exhibition contained works that were humorous, beautiful and dark. In approach some of the works reflected kawaii's commercial appeal, other works alluded to the transgressive and exploitative nature of sexual politics. And some reclaimed a much earlier meaning of kawaii as something beautiful that fits within the palm of the hand. The exhibition combined the seemingly opposing elements of the crafts and popular culture to develop a UK forum for the exploration of the cultural impact of contemporary crafts. This interpretive translation of kawaii offered contemporary craft practice as a pro-active link between popular culture, sub-culture and tradition. Sixteen artists were selected and many made new work for the exhibition. The range of work covered included: textiles, urushi, ceramics, washi, ohigashi, glass, mixed media and the scale of the works ranged from the tiny to the large scale installation. The project intended to develop the themes of the exhibition between artists and audiences from different countries and cultural backgrounds. With this intention, the presence of many of the artists at various educational events provided vital insight and connections. The target audience represented an outstanding opportunity to introduce and develop a new audience for contemporary craft. The Japanese artists taking part ranged from highly internationally acclaimed artists, established artists and early career artists who have not shown in the UK before. The catalogue was designed to specifically reflect the nature of the exhibition with full colour images throughout. Each of the artists contributed an answer to the question; what does kawaii mean to you? Their responses were printed in both English and Japanese. There are also three essays on the subject: from the exhibition curator Professor Lesley Millar; from Jessica Litherland, the Senior Exhibitions Officer (and kawaii afficianado) at the partner venue, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum; and from the Japanese independent journalist with specialist knowledge of the subject, Mikako Sawada; these were also reproduced in Japanese and English. The exhibition opened at the University for the Creative Arts on 29 October 2015. Prior to the exhibition, one of the artists, Minako Nishiyama, undertook a two week residency at UCA during which time she created her work for the exhibition and gave demonstrations for the students and the public. The materials (sugar paste) were sponsored by Squires Kitchen, a local firm specialising in decorative sugar work. Her presentations made a deep impact on her audiences. She spoke eloquently and very knowledgably about the place occupied by kawaii in contemporary Japanese culture. In particular she is concerned with the sexualisation of young girls. Her workshops with the sugar paste were attended by craft specialists, sugar decoration specialists and Kawaii enthusiasts. The artists GBN and Chika Ohgi also gave presentations about their work. Four of the visiting Japanese artists plus the curator presented their work and took part in a conference at the Japan Foundation, London, on 30 October 2015. The audience was drawn from a wide range of interest groups, which was the intention of the exhibition - to introduce kawaii to new audiences who are interested in traditional crafts and to introduce tradition crafts to new audiences who are interested in kawaii. During the exhibition run at UCA there were six curators' tours, two seminars and four artist presentations all of which drew a similar mixed audience with ages ranging from young children to the very elderly. The exhibition then toured to Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, opening on 1 February 2016. At this venue participating artist Mikiko Minewaki was artist in residence running two workshops. There was a weekend of kawaii-related activities including a Cosplay competition and catwalk organised in collaboration with Rugby Manga Cafe. There were school and college visits with accompanying workshops and two curator's tours. In total there were fourteen formal educational events and many more informal ones. The outstanding observation at both venues was that the exhibition was never without visitors - many visiting more than once. Overall the visitor numbers were: 10,960

Material Symphysis

Universities, throughout the world, are keen to celebrate the achievements of their students. Material Symphysis sets out to examine a more constant and less transient aspect to Higher Education establishments, its staff. It is from the staff that styles and schools of thought stem and futures subsequently shaped. Links between the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and Tokyo University of the Arts (TUA) have been forged as a result of their prominence in the field of crafts. This unique project deliberately sets out to celebrate, not only developing international links, but to acknowledge the quality of staff working on each course. More importantly it will look at similar and differing views on how material experience, through study of crafts, is taught across two diverse cultures. This is where the project opens up to include theories of education, perceptions of craft in cultural contexts, the sociological values placed upon objects and the student experience. These areas build on the uniqueness of the exhibition and through the publications establish a project of international significance with momentum and longevity. In 2014 the Japanese government introduced Super Global Universities, a funding initiative to enhance the international standing of certain institutes in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Global_Universities). The only arts based institute to be recognised by this initiative to date is TUA (Geidai). Two years ago Farnham became the UK’s first ‘Craft Town’. This status was recognised and granted due to the contribution Farnham has made, and continues to make, to the national and international standing of British Craft. As a result of these two timely initiatives this project sets the stage for a long overdue assessment of where the relationship between the UK and Japan sits today with regard to not only the crafts, but also how they are taught

Here & now: contemporary tapestry from Australia, Canada, Finland, Japan, Latvia, Norway, UK and USA

A catalogue of the exhibition 'Here & Now: contemporary tapestry from Australia, Canada, Japan, Latvia, Norway, UK and USA.' In the introductory essay exhibition curator Professor Lesley Millar discusses the history of tapestry weaving and the contemporary context for the works. The 21 artists in the exhibition describe the work they have created for the exhibition and their thinking about tapestry. 'Here & Now' is the first major curated exhibition of contemporary tapestry in England for over 20 years. Showcasing the breadth of international talent and most innovative approaches to the medium, the show challenges the notion of tapestry as a dying craft and marks a point in time for the art form

Transparent Boundaries

Transparent Boundaries, a EU Culture Programme project, sought to increase the visibility of the elder through representation in the arts. The community of the elder is a trans-national and cross-cultural invisible web of connection. The demographic in developed countries is one of an increasing, and increasingly, aging population with many born today who will live to 100 and beyond. Societal attitudes to the elder differ from culture to culture, but in many countries there is an almost total non-representation in the media, except when problems occur. The University for the Creative Arts led the project, with partners Aalborg University from Denmark, Associazione Marchigiana Attività Teatraliand (AMAT) from Italy, and the Hellenic Regional Development Centre from Greece. Each developed a project, with the elder as the central focus, using textiles, performance and poetry. In the UK the project was about mapping with a community in Hampshire and a joint dance project with Italy; in Greece the project was about song and poetry with performances by choirs made up of elders brought together for the project, and also working with a poet to produce poems; in Italy there was a photography project and a performance project with Italian, Greek and UK participants; in Denmark the project focused on the disappearing fishing industry. A final project in Poland brought together an Italian dancers, an UK textile artist and the Elder from Poland and the UK

Fabric: Touch and Identity

This exhibition at Compton Verney Museum is developed from the 3 year research project ‘The Erotic Cloth’ undertaken by Professor Lesley Millar (University for the Creative Arts) and Professor Alice Kettle (Manchester Metropolitan University), the first outcome of which has been the book The Erotic Cloth published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2018. Our argument in the book was concerned with the possibilities of cloth as a membrane through which we might experience the erotic and this exhibition will develop the theoretical discourse of the book through actual cloth as art and in art. Drawing on works from Compton Verney’s collection, as well as pieces by historic and contemporary artists, designers and makers, the exhibition will consider the varied uses of cloth as an expression of personal identity; through sexual identity, gender identity and otherness. Within the exhibition the works - like cloth itself - will flow and embrace many of the identified threads of connection between cloth and skin, making particular reference to the ways in which cloth often performs unspoken aspects of intimacy, pleasure, sensuality, love and tenderness. Of primary importance in the selection of the work has been the dialogue present in the work between the cloth, the body and the space between the cloth and skin

The erotic cloth: seduction and fetishism in textiles

Book commissioned by Bloomsbury Publishing and co-edited by Lesley Millar and Alice Kettle who also contributed a joint introduction, introductions to each section and a chapter each. The book takes a trans-disciplinary approach to the subject positing a variety of interpretations in which erotic is a multifaceted state, historically and culturally connected and materialised through our relationship with cloth. The contributions are written in a variety of tones, including those of practitioners and academics. The introduction discusses the theme from a Western historical and contemporary context, drawing upon the editors specialism in textiles as artistic practice. It closes with an afterword which builds upon the Japanese focus in the final chapter, looking at the notion from an entirely non-Western perspective. By doing this, the editors signpost further research into how other cultures negotiate the relationship between cloth and the erotic. The relationship between cloth and the body has been discussed in depth since the late twentieth century, mainly with a focus on the socio-political and narrative particularities of textiles. With the emergence of Haptic studies (Hara, Miller, Pallasmaa etc), the connection between the surface of the skin and the surface of cloth has been considered in the discussion of the sense of touch. However, the erotic nature of that relationship has tended to be the subtext of previous discourse, acknowledged but largely unspoken. This book specifically seeks to discover the ways in which the qualities of cloth that seduce, conceal and reveal have been explored and exploited in art, design, cinema, politics and dance. There will be a major exhibition based on the book, curated by the editors at Compton Verney in 2021. The book includes contributions from: Savithri Barlett, Catherine Dormor, Malcolm Garrett, Catherine Harper, Ruth Hingston, Nigel Hurlstone, Yuko Ikeda, Claire Jones, Angela Maddock, Masako Matsushita, Liz Rideal, Debra Roberts, Mary Schoeser, Georgina Williams, and Caroline Wintersgill

Cloth & memory

This book was published to accompany an exhibition of the same name at Salts Mills, Saltaire, Yorkshire, UK, in summer 2012, conceived and directed by Lesley Millar MBE, Professor of Textile Culture at the University for the Creative Arts. The exhibition and accompanying publication includes work by the artists Beverley Ayling-Smith, Carol Quarini, and Bob White. All visited Salts Mills and Saltaire and have created their work as a response to the history of the place: the memory of cloth and the making of cloth that has seeped into the fabric of the building. This exhibition is the first of two; Cloth and Memory 2 taking place in 2013