Textile Talks at Contextile 2026

As part of Contextile 2026, the Textile Talks will take place on 6th and 7th September, bringing together artists, researchers, and practitioners for two days of exchange around textiles, art, research, and other disciplines.

Under the theme “BY A THREAD”, this edition of the Textile Talks explores six sub-themes connected to the wider concept of Contextile 2026:

• Change in the Weather

• Narratives of Power

• Textile Waste

• Dynamic / Changeability

• Working Slowly and with Care

• More Than Human Approaches

I am delighted to share that I have been invited to present my work Security Blanket as part of the Dynamic / Changeability track on 7th September.

Security Blanket is a participatory textile project that explores collective stitching and folding as adaptive systems for survival, care, and collective learning. Constructed from salvaged household textiles using zero-waste principles, the blanket can be transformed through folding, gathering, and fastening into different functional forms, including garments, carrying devices, and temporary shelters.

Developed through a participatory workshop, contributors experimented with folding systems and stitched instructional pathways directly onto the textile surface, creating a collective language of adaptation and care. The blanket becomes a mobile, tactile archive, with knowledge embedded through repeated acts of transformation and use.

In the talk, I will reflect on transformation, participation, and reuse as critical strategies within contemporary textile art practice, and consider how textiles can preserve memory, support resilience, and create communal forms of learning in times of environmental and social uncertainty.

I’m particularly looking forward to sharing this space with the other artists, researchers, and speakers taking part in the Textile Talks, including invited guests and contributors selected through the open call. With such a diverse range of perspectives, I’m excited for two days of exchanging ideas around the many ways textiles can connect practices and disciplines, while also becoming forms of knowledge.

The full programme and more information about the Textile Talks can be found on the Contextile website.