COMMUNITY CARE . TEXTILE . WORKSHOPS . PUBLIC ART
“I am always moved by the bond of women who create together and talk about life whilst absorded in craft activities for hours. It is an experience like no others.”
Collaborators :
Porgai Artisans Association (Tamil Nadu, India) . Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre (Egypt) . Imperial College . Wellcome Trust . Cockpit Arts . Katherine Low Settlement . Craftspace . Three Rivers Bexley . 999 Club Deptford . Arts 4 Dementia . Gallery no.32 . Wimbledon Museum . Well Space Community . End of the Road festival . Supernormal Festival
PROJECT HIGHLIGHT
Women & Asthma . Stories Of Breath
Led by the Wellcome Trust and The Imperial College London
This public engagement programme and installation aims to change perceptions about asthma, revealing the diversity and complexity of the condition and associated health inequalities. We generated new understanding by bringing together women with lived experience of asthma and asthma researchers to express and exchange their unique perspectives using creative tools and techniques.
We worked with three craft organisations: Stitches in Time in London, Craftspace in Birmingham and The Sewing Rooms in Skelmersdale to deliver a programme of in-person and online workshops. Following the workshop programme, participants took part in a participatory process, using their creative exploration to inspire the development of a large-scale textile installation, to share their stories with public audiences.
PROJECTS
Large-scale installations . Communities engagement
CURRENT RESEARCH
Understanding the life of pastoral women through their textile craft practice
In Octobre 2024, I pursued a childhood dream which slowly transformed into a craft-based research project. For the past 2 years, I have been visiting two craft-based social enterprises in Egypt and in Tamil Nadu, India, which champions the creative voices and heritage textile craft of women living in rural communities.
Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre (Al Haraneya, Egypt) : Created by Ramses Wissa Wassef in the 1950's, the centre's mission is to support the creative voices of young egyptian villagers, especially women, to break away from formal educations and ways of living. The organisation specialises in fine cotton tapestry, wool tapestry and batik.
Porgai Artisans Association (Sittilingi, Tamil Nadu, India) : Porgai Artisans Association, is a social entreprise reviving the art of lambadi embroidery and championing women artisans from the Lambadi tribe, also known as Banjaras.
Sittingili is also home to the Tribal Health Initiative, a hospital providing care for local tribal populations. It also supports farming communities through SOFA, an organic farming association. Porgai, SOFA and THI are all health based initiatives in their own way promoting better work condition, employment and community care for inhabitants of the valley.
If you would like to know more about my research, get in touch !
Textile tutor - Katherine Low Settlement
KLS x Wimbledon
Textile tutor - Katherine Low Settlement
Textile Tutor - Katherine Low Settlement
Textile tutor - Katherine Low Settlement