Upcycling Workshop with Delaine Le Bas and Wendy Roby

Are you a fashion designer, or interested in how to upcycle your old t-shirts into fashion statements inspired by Delaine's exhibition UN-FAIR-GROUND, which is currently on display at the Whitworth.

Bring your old t-shirts and sweat-shirt to life! Join Turner Prize–nominated artist Delaine Le Bas, and textile designer Wendy Roby for a hands-on upcycling workshop.

Whether you want to refresh a favourite jumper or turn a forgotten t-shirt into something entirely new, this is your chance to get expert tips, experiment with colour and texture, and take home a piece you’ll be proud of. Materials are limited—bring your garments and your imagination!

📅 Saturday 25 April

⏰ 13:00pm - 15:00pm

📍the Whitworth

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Delaine Le Bas

Delaine Le Bas was born in Worthing and studied at St. Martin's School of Art, London. A practising artist since 1988, she works with fabrics, film, performance, painting, photography and sculpture, creating large-scale immersive installations. She was one of sixteen artists who formed Paradise Lost at the First Roma Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2007, and worked with her late husband, Damian Le Bas (1963–2017), on the installations Safe European Home?and Frontier De Luxe. In 2017, they collaborated on stage designs, costumes, and texts for Roma Armee at Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin. Her ongoing work Romani Embassy began in 2015, and her works have appeared at the Prague Biennale (2005, 2007), Venice Biennale (2007, 2017, 2023), Gwangju Biennale (2012), Tate Modern (2017), and ANTI Athens Biennale (2018), as well as all Berlin Herbstsalons, most recently in 2025.

In 2022, Le Bas was commissioned by Tate Liverpool for their Radical Landscapes exhibition and presented The House of Le Bas Established: 1984 at the Whitechapel Gallery Archive in 2023. She created the site-specific installation Incipit Vita Nova for Secession Vienna in 2023, and her major solo show Delainia17071965Unfolding opened at Tramway for Glasgow International in 2024. A nominee for the 40th Turner Prize, she exhibited a new version of Incipit Vita Nova at Tate Britain (2024–25). In 2025, she was in residence at The White House, Dagenham, producing A Stranger In Silver, Walking On Air and presenting Fabricating My Own Myth: Red Threads & Silver Needles at Newcastle Contemporary Art. Represented by Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix, she presented a solo booth at Frieze London in 2025 and is artist in residence at Celle Ligure, Genoa. Her work is held in public collections including The British Council, MUCEM, and Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

Wendy Roby

Wendy Roby is a printmaker from Reddish, Stockport who makes inks from food waste, plants and minerals in her kitchen. She taught herself to extract scarlet from avocados, black from oak trees, and blues, greens and purples from red cabbage. For Roby, the appeal isn’t just sustainability but transformation — turning unlikely materials, from avocado skins to knobbly wasp galls, into rich colour.

Her work has been exhibited widely across Greater Manchester, including three solo shows. Her prints and homewares are sold in museums and galleries including the Whitworth, and at markets such as the Hepworth Print Fair. She also teaches art and printmaking privately and for arts charities, and can spot charity shop cashmere at twenty paces. ✨

About the venue

The Whitworth is a venue with level access throughout, and facilities to support you during your visit. Alongside this our visitor team will be on hand to assist you in the gallery. Find out more about planning your visit to the Whitworth and accessibility information for you.

If you’d like to speak to a team member about any access or additional needs, please get in touch with the gallery and we will be happy to assist you. Email [email protected] or telephone 0161 275 7450.

The Whitworth art gallery and gardens is driven by a mission to work with communities to use art for positive social change, and actively addresses what matters most in people’s lives. We are proudly part of The University of Manchester, operating as a convening space between the University and the people of the city

(Image Credit: Delaine Le Bas PV performance for Un-Fair-Ground, Michael Pollard)

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