Exhibition: Wool Works Cardiff, Wales
Niina Hiltunen, Wel(l),come, 2019, handwoven art textile, detail. Photo: Henrietta Lehtonen
After a successful research trip to Finland last November, the joint collaboration between the Welsh group of textile makers, Makers and Practitioners and the Finnish makers group Modus will result in an exhibition at the Makers Guild Wales gallery, Craft in the Bay from September 28th until November 10th, 2019. In 2020 the exhibition will tour to Helsinki CraftCorner on January 18 – February 28 and to Tampere Finlayson Area on March 15 – April 5. Niina Hiltunen participates in this joint exhibition with two curated works of art: Wel(l,)come and Hinging on Water.
The theme of the exhibition ‘Wool Works’, for which the participants are creating new work, embraces links between the cultural heritages of both countries. During the exhibition there will be a series of workshops, talks and demonstrations to encourage participation from the public and raise awareness of the applied arts in both Wales and Finland.
There will be drop in workshops (stitching Welsh and Finnish motifs, recycling, weaving), talks, demonstrations and meet the maker sessions during the opening (28th/29th September) and closing (9th/10th November) weekends. Niina Hiltunen will set her loom in the exhibition space and will be demonstrating and encouraging interaction with the public during the opening weekend. The loom will remain throughout the exhibition for the public to ‘have-a-go’ and local weavers will be on hand at specific times to explain the weaving process. This is part of an ongoing project that Niina is developing within her own practice and intends to take it to Berlin in 2020. Niina Hiltunen will also have a talk on Sunday 29th September at 2 pm. The theme of the talk is: Art and Accessibility. How to reach out to special audiences beyond galleries – an introduction to a Finnish approach.
During the exhibition UK celebrates also for the 9th time the national Wool Week | Campaign for Wool festivities from Shetland to West Wales and from London to Yorkshire. Many of the workshops organized in accordance with the Wool Works exhibition coincide with the campaign in Wales.
All exhibiting artists: Pauline Hearn, Claire Cawte, Sue Shields, Mandy Nash, Susan Smith, Sirpa Morsky, Jane McCann, Lynda Shell, Alison Moger, Alison Taylor, Elspeth Thomas, Henni Eliala, Johanna Hernesniemi, Niina Hiltunen, Mirka Laine, Saija Lehtonen, Merianne Nebo, Kukka Rantanen, Laura Saarivuori-Eskola, Riitta Sinkkonen Davies.
More information:
The exhibition web page: https://www.makersguildinwales.org.uk/wool-works.html
The Wool Works Exhibition Programme
Facebook page: Wool Works.Exhibition