The end of the two year tour. After our successful two-year Arts Council-funded exhibition tour of ‘A Visible THREAD’, we have reflected on our practice as a collective and discussed how we can elevate the ambitions of seam.
So, what's next?
We’re now planning another ambitious project, ‘Warped and Wasted’ for 2025, which will focus on sustainability and collaboration.
However, we need your help to secure match funding for our next Arts Council application.
To kickstart this project and funding bids, each of us is contributing £200 to launch this campaign aimed at reaching our target of £5,000. Our initial commitment demonstrates our shared belief in the project and helps inspire others to invest in this exciting vision.
In addition to that, we are all contributing very special seam collective rewards – read on to find out more.
Over time, seam collective has built a strong identity and reputation, and we now want the opportunity to create a new piece that fully reflects our collective strengths and shares knowledge.
What is Warped and Wasted
‘Warped and Wasted’ will build on what we’ve learned through working together during ‘A Visible THREAD’. We’re now challenging ourselves to work collaboratively to develop an authentically sustainable, immersive and experimental textile installation which will be exhibited at ACEarts, in Somerton, Somerset, UK over seven weeks from August-October 2025.
Textile Symposium
We are also planning a ‘Warped and Wasted’ Symposium to coincide with the exhibition which will highlight issues of sustainability, specifically in fine art textile practices. Disseminating what we learn through our research and making, we want to stimulate critical dialogue and provoke thought, conversation - and action. Watch this space for more details!
We’re excited by our ideas, but some aspects of the project are also rather outside our comfort zones. We’ve recently completed a sustainability audit, as individual members, as part of ‘A Visible THREAD’. We recognise that, as artists, sustainability is such a complex issue, and we have a long way to go… However, we are committing ourselves, individually and as a collective, to find ways to work towards making art that doesn’t add to the climate crisis. We know it’s a highly ambitious vision, but we’re determined to work together and see what steps we can make to change the ways we work, the materials we use and to spark conversations with others.
We’re also pushing ourselves by deciding to work collaboratively on this large-scale, modular installation!
Your kind donations, as match funding for our Arts Council application, will give us time to establish a unified voice. Given our diverse practices, it is essential to have time to work together, with the guidance of a mentor and curator. The title of the project, ‘Warped and Wasted’, will act as a catalyst for our collaboration. The work will also challenge us to assess the sustainability of our practices and how we can respond to the climate emergency as artists.
Our long-term ambition is to exhibit at major events, nationally and internationally, such as the British Textile Biennial, The Venice Biennale and Contextile Biennial in Portugal, and to build an international reputation, similar to collectives like Assembly and Bauhaus.
Your generous donations will allow the artists time for research and development, enabling us to hold in-person meetings, going through a structured process of ideas generation and consensus-building towards the final work. With mentoring support, we will distil our ideas into a cohesive vision. We have developed a clear plan to make this goal achievable, focusing on collaboration and sustainability. We have collectively agreed to aim to use 100% existing second-hand or biodegradable materials.
Our audience
Our audiences will have an experience which enables learning about sustainability, enabling them to join the conversation and potentially challenge themselves about this urgent and complex issue. ‘Warped and Wasted’ will also increase the visibility of experimental contemporary textile practices, nationally and internationally through seam collective’s growing #septembertextilelove community.
We’re very excited about this aspirational project, but we can’t do it without your help. Please donate to our Crowdfunder, benefit from the range of exciting rewards from seam collective members, follow us on Instagram and become part of this ambitious project.
The Rewards
The Rewards
We have a huge variety of rewards, to suit all pockets and to give you, our wonderful audience, lots of opportunities to learn from, purchase from or engage with the many individual and talented seam members.
From Jane Colquhoun, 3 'Orts' each at the reward price of £35.
From Helen MacRitchie, we have 4 very special bags, purses and pencil cases.
From Penny Wheeler - workshop, an introduction to back-strap weaving using a rigid heddle loom
From Joy Merron – a choice of recycled teabag cordage bowl or conical vase £35 each. This first image is of a conical vase which measures height from 20 cm base width 19 cm.
Also from Joy Merron – a choice of recycled teabag cordage bowl or conical vase £35 each. This second image shows one of Joy's Recycled used teabag cordage bowls with jute edging. It is 14cm high with a diameter of 26cm.
From Nina Gronw-Lewis – a Sketchbook Making Workshop. A 2 ½ hour session designed for up to 3 people with personalized guidance & hands-on experience - £100
From Lydia Needle’s 1-2-1 needlefelt workshop - £100
From Lydia Needle, an Archival print of the Bilberry Bumblebee from FIFTY BEES plus books from the 2nd and 5th exhibitions, as well as 7 various bee postcards for £40. There are two of these available. And then there’s also an archival print of the Broken-belted Bumblebee from FIFTY BEES plus books from the 2nd and 5th exhibitions, as well as 7 various bee postcards. This is also £40.
From Lou Baker's – a 'Social knitwork' - an afternoon of making, conversation and CAKE! £20 each
From Angie Parker – handmade doorstop using digitally printed fabric in Angie's woven krokbragd design at £20 each.
From Julie Heaton – online artist talk about how she uses art to navigate loss
From Oly Bliss – a choice of 3. Either ‘How to start a textile portrait’, or ‘An introduction to colour theory workshop’, Or ‘a portfolio review and critique of your work’.
From Desiree Jeans - 2 sets of 3xFabWrap (reusable fabric gift wrap) at £25 each and a one-off FabWrap embellished with embroidery and ribbons for £50
From Youngye Cho - Portfolio Guidance and Review for Aspiring Textile Students - £100
From Nicola Turner – Supper at the studio of artist Nicola Turner in Bath on 10th September 7pm
From the whole team - the very last 'seam collective stitch fabric book kit' Naturally dyed cloth & yarn.
We’re very excited about this aspirational project, but we can’t do it without your help. Please donate to our Crowdfunder, benefit from the range of exciting offers from seam collective members, follow us on Instagram and become part of this ambitious project.
Thank you.
seam collective
Penny Wheeler ∙ Desiree Jeans ∙ Angie Parker ∙ Joy Merron ∙ Julie Heaton ∙ Jane Colquhoun ∙ Oly Bliss ∙ Lou Baker ∙ Lydia Needle ∙ Nina Gronw-Lewis ∙ Nicola Turner ∙ Alice Marie Archer ∙ Leah Hislop ∙ Helen MacRitchie ∙ Youngye Cho.