This exhibition explores the importance of intergenerational connections and the role textile crafts play in enriching the lives of all involved.
In an increasingly digital, fast-paced world, the ability to learn and develop simple craft skills, such as stitching and knotting techniques, is under threat. These skills have traditionally been passed down through familial interconnections for generations. This heritage embodies not only technical expertise but also cultural narratives, personal histories, and a sense of identity and belonging. As lifestyles shift, opportunities for younger generations to engage with these skills from their elders, specifically their grandparents, are also dwindling.
At three textile craft skill-based workshops held at the Crafts Study Centre during October 2025, artists Alison Baxter, Mona Craven, and Louise Andersen facilitated learning how to knot threads to form new surfaces, like lace, how a cloth could be created from fragments of fabric, and how simple embroidery embellishments elevate cloth into revered heritage items and/or works of art.
Participants were invited to relate their personal stories carried in inherited textile artefacts and share how they learned their textile know-how. This communal sharing of intergenerational cultural knowledge has since evolved as participants have developed newly inspired responses.
This project was developed from research undertaken by Alison Baxter for the exhibiton Hidden Histories of Women. This body of work celebrates the role of women in passing down craft knowledge alongside many other skills. For the Crafts Study Centre exhibition, Alison has created new vessels in response to the stories shared by the workshop participants about their significant female relatives.
Project lead Loucia Manapolou curates the exhibition, which aims to inspire and share textile techniques inherited through intergenerational heritage, not only in technical skill but also in the stories and evocative objects that have been handed down within families. In this way, the exhibition shows the significance of the heritage within a contemporary craft context.
We warmly invite you to visit the exhibition and participate in this ongoing project.
Images from the Textile Skills Workshops that took place during October 2025.
