A celebration of Kirklees’ globally recognised textile industry will take place from June 8 – 16 with over 70 events across the district.
Organisers Kirklees Council’s Creative Economy Team and festival curators HATCH say the inaugural week-long festival is inspired by the industry’s heritage, innovations, as well as future opportunities for careers and creativity.
Throughout the festival there will be an array of events across Kirklees, from Batley to Slaithwaite, including mill walks, tours and open days; pop up exhibitions; events in theatres, museums and galleries with local artists, music and film; makers’ markets and craft markets, as well as activities for families.
The festival launches on Saturday 8 June with ‘The Big Knit’, where the community will be encouraged to ‘yarn bomb’ local landmarks across the district.
Key events during the festival include:
The Textile Trail– Visitors will have the opportunity to visit heritage settings, go behind the scenes of textile industries, visit independent artist makers in their studios and find out where to get hold of the best textile supplies.
Guided walks – The festival offers the opportunity to take part in four guided walks throughout Kirklees. There will be a ‘walk, make and sketch’ hike above Marsden, three guided walks and tours from Skelmanthorpe Textile Heritage Centre, an unbeWEAVEable scavenger hunt through Huddersfield town centre and a meditative walk through the stunning woodlands surrounding Bagshaw Museum.
Holmfirth Arts Festival Banner Parade, June 16 – The Textile Banner Parade created by Edgelands Arts with people from across the Holme Valley, and embracing the theme of Generations of Innovators, will fill the streets of Holmfirth with a riotous carnival of colour and music. There will also be an exclusive musical performance from some of Kirklees’ local choirs who will be joined by Boliyaan singers and Dholki percussionists.
Exhibitions – Textile artists across the district will be showcased at Temporary Contemporary at Queensgate Market and the welcome return of Wendy Meadley’s Hypervelocity flag Installation, originally made with the community for Le Grand Depart in 2014.
Talks, Workshops and Performances – The programme includes a special performance and separate writing workshop from Kate Fox of Where There’s Muck There’s Bras, Word Weavers Cabaret which brings together poets from across Kirklees in celebration of words spoken and written, a creative social media masterclass with Sara Tasker and a workshop and talk on Craftivism by Sarah Corbett.
Markets – Three craft markets will be popping up across Kirklees during WOVEN. In Slaithwaite, Made Beautifully Here brings you a luxurious marketplace for fine textiles and Wild About Wool’s Yarn Market will offer a wide range of yarn to inspire wool crafters of all abilities and interests.
Crafty Baggage’s Makers Market takes place in the Lawrence Batley Theatre courtyard and Byram Arcade in Huddersfield and brings together textile artists and makers from across the district.
Spectacular Showcase of Textile Innovation, June 15 – shining a spotlight on the creative innovation that is shaping the textiles industry today, visitors can see first-hand what the future of textiles looks like. There will be talks from Julia Roebuck from Upcycle Fashion on the sustainable fashion revolution, Parik Goswami on how scientific developments are shaping textiles beyond clothing and Alan Cannon Jones, a teacher at the London College of Fashion with over 50 years industry experience. There will also be a Fashion Show that features designs created by schools across the district.
Film programme – The WOVEN film programme includes screenings of textile themed films, as well as some especially commissioned films from Alistair I MacDonald and Creative Scene – Ripping Yarns tells the stories behind some of the district’s most innovative textile businesses. Screenings will take place at Queensgate Market Place. Visitors also get the opportunity to join Chris Squire from Impossible Arts as he talks exclusively to Alistair MacDonald and special guests about making the films.
WOVEN is to become a biennial event in the Kirklees’ events calendar, with the next festival taking place in 2021, and will help embed activity through long term projects across the local cultural, education and industry sectors.
For more information on events taking place throughout June, go to https://woveninkirklees.co.uk/. Please note, some events require booking in advance.
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