Stroud International Textile Festival presents

Festival Feast

30 April - 15 May

This exhibition shows the work of a selection of artists who are taking part in this year’s International Textile Festival. The festival opens on 30 April and runs to 22 May and is held in venues in and around Stroud.

The 2011 International Textile Festival promises an exciting and stimulating programme of exhibitions, talks, workshops, events, performance and opportunities for debate and discussion. The small market town of Stroud is host to the UK’s only textile festival that broadens out to welcome performance art, theatre and the applied arts, with textiles at its heart.

The festival has a reputation for excellence and innovation while celebrating contemporary and traditional work from leading international artists and emerging artists, ensuring that it remains fresh and vibrant.

This year’s festival shows a range of stimulating and inspiring work in exhibitions and focus events plus talks from a range of fascinating and informed speakers.

A highlight is a one-day seminar called ‘Off the Loom’.  Hosted by Laura Thomas, this day of talks will celebrate some of the innovative applications and aesthetic explorations in contemporary weave practice.

With a respectful nod to tradition, the invited speakers are all forging new ground within the fashion, science, furnishings and art spheres taking weave into dynamic new arenas. From e-textiles to art for architectural spaces, each speaker is a pioneer in their discipline and is taking their expertise into unexpected arenas.

The seminar will give plenty of opportunity for discussion, debate and exploration.

Showing at New Brewery Arts is new work from nationally acclaimed artists such as Ptolemy Mann who hand weaves strikingly beautiful and colourful wall blocks, Lizzie Farey weaves willow into three dimensional vessels and stunning wall pieces and Jan Garside, hand dyes and hand weaves delicate translucent work.

Finally, a taste of a new collaboration, 'Picnic', between one of the country’s most loved and respected textile artists, Alice Kettle and ceramicist, CJ O’Neill.

Picnic combines CJ O’Neill’s ceramics with Alice Kettle’s collection of stitched tablecloths and fabric scraps. They have reclaimed these vintage artefacts to make a collection of picnic sets. Personalised text patterns with Aynsley traditional florals and luminous orange highlights are echoed in the stitched motifs.

Click here for the Festival catalogue.

For full details on the Stroud International Textile Festival go to www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk or contact the festival office on info@stroudsit.org or +44 (0)1453 751056

Textile Trail

Open Studios

Saturday 7 May 10am - 6pm

Sunday 8 May 12 noon - 5pm

The Stroud International Textile Festival invites you to join the Textile Trail to visit artists in their studios from the middle of Stroud, out through the Golden Valley, and on to Cirencester.

The Textile Trail 2011 has been created for you to go from studio to studio visiting textile artists in their own creative and colourful environment.  You'll be able to meet each artist and discuss their work, discover what inspires and motivates them and buy direct or commission new work.  Enjoy visiting studios that nestle in back gardens or sit snugly on the edge of woodland.

Flying the flag for the Textile Trail in Festival Feast are Matthew Harris, Sarah Brooker and Sarah Beadsmoore - just three of the twelve artists who will open their studio doors to you. The two Sarahs are based in studios on-site at New Brewery Arts, so make a date to pop in and see them in action.  This is a great opportunity to meet artists, buy direct and explore their creative spaces.

See the Textile Trail catalogue here.