THE BLOG

12th May 2025

Inspirational Monday is details of an exhibition I was asked to juror by Surface Design Association. What makes textile art feel contemporary has always fascinated me so I chose Classics Reimagined which explores the endurance of fiber art over centuries and the ways that contemporary artists reimagine, reinvent, or update “classics” for our contemporary moment. To find out more and see some of the entries visit this week’s blog  for more details.

Image: Classics Reimagined, an exhibition I curated for Surface Design Association

Inspirational Monday, 7th March,  2025

Hello, thank you for visiting Textile Curator. I’ve just finished working on a large project (details later this year) so I haven’t been as active as usual on Textile Curator. But good news, I’m currently working on a new schedule for this year which will be released soon.

In the meantime why not read Kent O’Doherty’s exclusive interview. Kent was our last Inspirational Monday’s artist. Formerly a musician and composer he was always interested in art, but it wasn’t until he started sewing that he became completely engaged with it. See more of his work and read his interview here.

To discover more textile artists take a look at the Artists Directory in the menu bar. I’d really appreciate it if you can like and follow me on Instagram and Facebook in my quest to ‘wake up the world to contemporary textile art’. Thank you! Helen

Image: Artist Kent O’Doherty

Textile Art News 

If you have ever considered sharing your knowledge of teaching your skills but don’t know where to start Teaching Creative Workshops In Person and Online by Patricia van den Akker is an invaluable read packed with tips, inspiration and advice. Visit the blog  for more details.

I feature quite a few books on Textile Curator and the easiest way you keep up to day is visit Instagram www.instagram.com/textilecurator or Facebook www.facebook.com/TextileCurator

Also if you aren’t already, follow me to help me in my quest to ‘wake up the world to contemporary textile art.’

Thank you, Helen x

Image: Teaching Creative Workshops in Person and Online by Patricia van den Akker is published by Herbert Press

Spotlight 

American artist Rachel Breen rachelbreenart.com examines the labour rights of garment workers.  “I am a maker, yet much of my work involves the opposite: I “unmake” things and “dismantle” ways of seeing and believing. My work seeks to remind us of the human labor present in the clothes we wear and our relationship to the workers who made them.”

Shroud  commemorates the 1,281 garment workers whose lives were lost in the combined tragedies of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 1911 (New York City) and the Rana Plaza Factory Collapse 2013 (Bangladesh). This exhibition was named one of the top 20, best of 2018, exhibitions in the US by Hyperallergic. This work was also exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 2020 as part of a solo exhibition titled “The Labor We Wear.”

“With this work I seek to show how garment workers have been exploited across geographic borders and throughout history. Purchasing these shirts at the Goodwill Outlet, represents the
late stages of the garment supply chain. Thrift stores like Goodwill send unsold clothes to either a landfill or third-party companies. The massive shipments of these used clothing to the Global
South displaces and erodes local industries.”

Image: Shroud, 1,281 used white shirts, zip ties, thread, approximately 12′ x 60′ x43′  2018,

Contact us

I’m Helen Adams and I started Textile Curator to “wake up the world to contemporary textile art.” If you are an artist who would like to be considered, a gallery who is exhibiting textile art, or anything else relating to this wonderful genre please contact me at info@textilecurator.com. I can also advise on collecting textile art, be a juror and write artists statements and articles. If you have any queries I’d love to hear from you.