A BIG thank you to everyone who was part of WOVEN festival this year. This year our theme was connecting culture – bringing communities together through the shared language of textiles. It was a joy to see so many communities come together holding inspiring events, hands-on workshops, thought provoking exhibitions, big n beautiful yarn bombs and so much more.
Whether you organised an event, volunteered or came along to one – or many – of the curated or community-led events, each and every one of you contributed to the festival’s success.
There were so many highlights from the stunning Red Dress to our much-loved yarn bombs.
There were workshops galore from delicate darning to bringing out the big tufting guns via natural dye baths, peg looms and more.
We heard from industry experts and toured local mills. We celebrated Kirklees rich textile history with archive events, and historical talks. We heard stories and saw performances from refugees.
We looked to the future with panel talks and performances on activism and AI. We delved into sustainability with wonky pattern making, biophilic textile forms and the Growing Colour Together book launch.
The final weekend saw community kites flying, and a mighty mash up with a huge clothes swap, bunting galas, community gatherings and more.
It’s been a wonderful festival, all made possible with the help from the brilliant WOVEN community.
This year’s festival saw press coverage from the BBC, Yorkshire Life, The Knitter, Simply Knitting and the WI Life magazine, as well as features in local news outlets including Huddersfield Hub, Huddersfield Examiner and Dewsbury Reporter. You can read some of the articles below.
We also enjoyed chatting about the festival on podcasts. Curator Nat Walton was a guest on the Making Stitches podcast, whilst The Red Dress artist Kirstie Macleod appeared on the Standard Issue podcast telling the story behind the project. You can listen back via the links.
Take a look at some of the images below, more to follow!
Images by Studio Bokehgo
