A stunning exhibition of new work made possible by the generous funding and support of Arts Council England, Bradford Pick & Mix celebrates Bradford’s textile heritage through the eclectic and diverse talents of contemporary artists. Each artist ‘picked’ an artefact from our exclusive archive collections for inspiration, then ‘mixed’ their ideas in their own media: fine art, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, glass, film and jewellery. The exhibition was conceived and curated by Helen Farrar, Curator of Textiles at the Textiles Archive and a practising artist.
The show features work by twenty-two diverse artists. You can read about how each artist engaged with the our archive collections to produce something new and unique by following the individual links: Caro Blount-Shah, Kasia Breska, Liz Clay, Manya Dorian Doñaque, Liza Dracup, Dudley Edwards, Madeleine Edwards, Helen Farrar, Brita Granström, Sandra Kerr, Hannah Lamb, Mick Manning, Sarah McDade, Mark Milnes, Margaret Naylor, Helen Parrott, Glenys Phillips, June Russell, Jane Vanroe, Clare Wellesley-Smith, Jo Whitehead and Helen Wood.
Bradford Pick and Mix was officially opened by our distinguished textiles alumnus Sir James Hill, in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Mike Gibbons, Lady Mayoress, Mrs Elizabeth Sharp, many of the exhibiting artists and invited guests.
Bradford Pick and Mix ran from 13th January until 18th February 2015 at the Dye House Gallery, Carlton Street, Bradford, BD7 1AY. The exhibition was so inspiring that we asked some of the artists to give introductory workshops for students and members of the public. A full day of workshops was held on 7th February which proved tremendously popular.