Participatory Textile Practices (A Roundtable)

The sector-wide turn towards participatory research methodologies heralds a long-in-the-making moment of focus for knowledge gleaned outside of the traditional academic space. This event will focus on participatory practices in textile art making, an area of art production that has often involved collaboration. Over one hour, join our panelists as they explore and discuss their own experiences of participatory research, collaborative art making, and how such embodied practices enhance and influence the generation of new knowledge.

We bring together three researchers who have great experience of community-led, collaborative, and participatory textile art making: Beau Brannick, Collections Officer of the Museum of Cambridge and organiser of the Norfolk Trans Joy Community Quilt, Layla Khoo, PhD Student at the University of Leeds and organiser of “A Virtuous Woman” at Hardwick Hall, and Chinelo L. Njaka, Research Fellow at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Chaired by Laura Moseley, founder of Common Threads Press and Assistant Curator of the Women’s Art Collection, the panel will discuss their experiences and explore research in the context of participatory art making in local and global contexts.

This event is hosted as a collaboration between the University of Exeter's The Art of Fiction project, the Women's Art Collection, and Cambridge Visual Culture. It occurs as part of The Art of Fiction's workshop on "Patchwork and Creativity" (19-20 September).

This roundtable will be followed by a wine reception and networking opportunity. We look forward to welcoming you!

Biographies

Beau Brannick is a passionate museum and heritage professional with a keen interest in uplifting LGBTQ+ histories and voices. They are the Collections Officer at the Museum of Cambridge and the curator of the museum's current exhibition 'The Stories Behind the Stitches', an exhibition exploring themes of mental health, injury and disability, education, and mourning through Cambridgeshire textiles. They are currently studying MA Queer History at Goldsmiths University of London and one-half of the Norfolk Trans Joy Community Quilt project with their partner Alice Bigsby-Bye.

Laura Moseley joined the Women’s Art Collection as Assistant Curator in May 2024. Laura has a BA and MA in History of Art, researching historical and contemporary craft practices, and has worked freelance with arts and cultural organisations including the Norwich Castle Museum, Cardiff University, Young Norfolk Arts and the Norfolk Heritage Centre on projects related to art and craft history and its intersections with community and activism. Laura also runs her own publishing business, Common Threads Press, that specialises in radical histories of craft and making.

Chinelo L. Njaka, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) is a sociologist and textile and fibre artist. She is the Founder and Director of Peckham Rights!, a non-profit human rights and creative activism organisation in southeast London. She is also a founding member of the Equity Advisory Council at the Crafts Council. Dr. Njaka's research encompasses intersectional studies, visual sociology, and comparative race analysis, focusing on systemic racisms, intersectional anti-racism advocacy, and the dynamics of race and racism in craft spaces. Her work embraces global perspectives across the Black Atlantic, exploring diverse Black identities and experiences, with a specific emphasis on contemporary Black quilting and broader textile arts in the US and UK.

Layla Khoo is a multimedia artist specialising in site-specific, participatory installations - her practice positioned in the liminal space between art for practice and art for purpose. She is currently undertaking the second year of a practice-based PhD at the University of Leeds and in partnership with Hardwick Hall (National Trust). Her research focuses on how participatory contemporary art may affect visitor engagement with heritage narratives, and how any effect can be measured and evaluated - how the act of participation can be used to hold and express differing visitor experiences and values in response to heritage narratives, and be used as an evaluative tool, including unexpected and evolving outcomes resulting from participation. Previous works include installations for National Trust, Historic England and independent museums, collaboration with community groups and sculpture for Forestry England.

Host or Publisher The Women's Art Collection