Project 04

In Fabric: The Art of the Place

In partnership with China Academy of Art and Manchester School of Art

In partnership with China Academy of Art & Manchester School of Art, the students from China & Manchester have built mutually compatible relationships through shared online workshops, culminating in creative works at each location. The project invited the students to contemplate the city (Manchester & Hangzhou) as a starting point to consider how we, as humans, participate in the city and how we conceptualize our place in the world, and how we dream of a future. Working in collaborative groups the project kick-started with a ‘Skyliner’ anti-tour of Manchester, to discover the fabric of the city, exploring new perspectives and hidden histories of place. In Fabric: The Art of Space’ is concerned with the symbiosis of fabric and space, and is heavily influenced by materiality, physicality, and the process of making. The students have produced installations and interventions to highlight issues such as the gentrification of place, the lack of disabled seating, lost voices of the past and a love letter to the Northern Quarter. This International COIL project will also be linked to the Hangzhou Triennial of Fibre Art 2022, Textile & Place Conference & British Textile Biennial 2023.