British Textile Biennial

03/09/2026

British Textile Biennial’s Artistic Director, Laurie Peake MBE is speaking on the ‘From Soil to Shelf’ panel as part of Manchester Fashion Week

From Soil to Shelf - How regenerative materials are reshaping the future of fashion.

🗓️ Wednesday 9th September, 12.30pm
📍 Campfield Studios, Manchester

This is an industry only event. Individuals can apply for accreditation/access via the Manchester Fashion Week website: https://www.fashionweekmanchester.co.uk/accreditation 🔗

Accreditation is reserved for fashion industry professionals attending the events in a work capacity. This includes members of the press, media, photographers, content creators, broadcasters, stylists, buyers and industry professionals looking to experience the event and connect with the people shaping the future of fashion.

Please contact Manchester Fashion Week regarding any further information ℹ️

26/08/2026

Join The Making Rooms this Sunday for a free workshop to learn how process our Homegrown Homespun flax into a workable fibre!

📍 The workshop takes place on Sunday 30th August at 12:30pm at the Making Rooms (9 Town Hall Street, Blackburn, BB2 1AG)

Book your free slot at https://sign-in.makingrooms.org/workshops/278/ 🔗

05/08/2026

Our friends at Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery have launched a new open call for all artists across the North-West — it’s your time to shine! More information below ⬇️

Repost • Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery

We’re opening our gallery doors to celebrate the incredible breadth, originality, and diversity of contemporary art in our region. Whether you’re an emerging talent, an established practitioner, or returning to your practice, we want to see your work!

From painting, sculpture, and photography to textiles, ceramics, moving image, and mixed media — all forms are welcome. No set theme, just pure contemporary creativity.

Here is what’s up for grabs:

🏆 Paid Commission / Artwork Purchase (worth up to £1,000 for The Whitaker’s permanent collection or a new commission)
🏆 Art Materials Package (a selection of high-quality supplies)
🏆 People’s Choice Award (artisan gift hamper + limited-edition artist print)

🗓️ KEY DATES TO REMEMBER:
Submissions Delivery: 1st – 4th October | 10am – 4pm
Exhibition Opening: Saturday 17th October | 2pm – 4pm
Exhibition Runs: 17th October – 13th December

📍 WHERE: The Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery
🎟️ ENTRY FEE: £5 per artwork (submit up to 3 physical or digital artworks)

💫 Judging Panel: Jamie Holman, Jude Wainwright, Zara Saghir & Gaynor Seville.

Click the link in Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery bio to download your submission form and read full guidelines! 🔗

(Graduating/Recent grads: Don’t forget to also check out MADE IT 2026 by Short Supply | Mollie & Bek hosted alongside us!) Link in bio ☝️

21/07/2026

Daniel Meadow’s touring exhibition Steam and Soot is now open at Queen Street Textile Museum! On Saturday, as part of this exhibition, we also hosted a special in conversation event between Daniel and BTB artistic director Laurie Peake MBE, where audiences had the opportunity to hear about the exhibition and it’s legacy from the artist himself - thank you to all who attended!

Fifty years after capturing the vibrant working life of Lancashire’s cotton mills, pioneering documentary photographer Daniel Meadows is returning to where it all began.

The iconic 1970s touring exhibition Shuttles, Steam and Soot has been faithfully recreated, offering a uniquely vivid portrait of Lancashire’s workers, from weavers to steeplejacks. See these unforgettable images in the very locations they were captured!

📍Queen Street Mill Textile Museum (before touring other Pennine Lancashire locations)

📆 Wednesday 8th July – Saturday 29th August 2026 open Wed–Sat, 12pm – 4pm

Exhibition admission is FREE! (Wider museum access is £5 per adult, under 18s free).

Presented in partnership between British Textile Biennial and Mid Pennine Arts

📸 Images by Diane Muldowney

20/07/2026

All of us at BTB are mourning the loss of artist, Christine Borland who created one of the most beautiful works we’ve ever commissioned, Projection Cloth.

The fustian cloth, with a linen warp and cotton weft, historically linked to Lancashire, was painstakingly hand woven in Pendle Heritage Centre Cruck Barn over several days by Christine on an enormous loom, hand-hewn from timbers found in Pendle Forest, using cotton and flax fibre intimately linked to Christine’s ongoing work.

The four films projected onto the cloth told a story of women’s lives emerging from a digital figure’s abstracted motions, accompanied by a soundtrack of a dialogue between the artist and her daughter, Grace Borland Sinclair. From growing and hand-working, through industrialisation, to our digital age and into a speculative future, the work touches on plant and textile lore and the symbolism associated with the demonised image of women as witches. This resonates deeply in Pendle, where Projection Cloth was created, as ten women and one man, most of them linked to textile practices, were among the last people hanged for witchcraft in England in 1612.

We all cherish the joy, light and sparkling intelligence Christine brought into our lives and work. Britain has lost one of its greats, and all who knew her have lost an incredibly special person, not least her remarkable family.

03/07/2026

Fifty years after capturing the vibrant working life of Lancashire’s cotton mills, pioneering documentary photographer Daniel Meadows is returning to where it all began.

The iconic 1970s touring exhibition Shuttles, Steam and Soot has been faithfully recreated, offering a uniquely vivid portrait of Lancashire’s workers, from weavers to steeplejacks. See these unforgettable images in the very locations they were captured!

📍Queen Street Mill Textile Museum (before touring other Pennine Lancashire locations)

📆 Wednesday 8th July – Saturday 29th August 2026 open Wed–Sat, 12pm – 4pm

Exhibition admission is FREE! (Wider museum access is £5 per adult, under 18s free).

📣 Special Event: In Conversation with Daniel Meadows

Don’t miss the chance to hear from the photographer himself! Daniel will be ‘in conversation’ with Laurie Peake MBE (Artistic Director of British Textile Biennial) on Saturday 18th July.

Presented in partnership between British Textile Biennial and Mid Pennine Arts.

Spaces are limited! Book your tickets for the talk through https://www6.apps.lancashire.gov.uk/w/webpage/event-details?eventid=3830229 🔗

📸 Images by Daniel Meadows

01/07/2026

Upcoming events with our partners Gawthorpe Textiles Collection ⬇️

Join curator Rachel Midgley for a number of online talks and study visits this summer - exploring Gawthorpe’s historic textile collection!

👠 Shoes | Tue 23 June, 7pm (online talk)

🧵 19th Century Patchwork | Tue 7 July, 7pm (online talk)

🕸️ Lace | Tue 21 July, 7pm (online talk)

🔍 Print & Pattern Study Visit | Sat 15 Aug, 10am-1pm (visit in Brierfield)

✨ Trimmings & Embellishments | Tue 25 Aug, 7pm (online talk)

Explore the stunning details of items in the collection from your own home, or in person for a study visit at the studio. All money from courses supports Gawthorpe Textiles Collection a charity.

More information and ticket links can be found via the What’s On section of gawthorpetextiles.org.uk or by searching Gawthorpe Textiles Collection on eventbrite link 🔗

Photos: Copyright of Gawthorpe Textiles Collection

25/06/2026

There’s one month left to see BTB25 artist Hannah Robson’s installation Transformation at The Harris.

For BTB25, Hannah Robson presented a monumental work that responded to the Harris’s archive of the Courtauld Factory in Preston in the impressive newly opened spaces of the museum.

This short film by Lucy Forrester explores this project with artist Hannah Robson.

As an artist and weaver, Hannah explores the relationship between textiles and architecture and how textiles can amplify the elemental changes in environments. Transformation traces the evolution of Courtauld’s to reflect the changes in textile making in the 20th Century and their production of Rayon, the first commercially viable artificial fibre.

You can see Transformation at The Harris until Monday 27th July 2026.

📍The Harris, Market Square, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2PP

🗓️ Open every day until Monday 27th July, please see ours or The Harris’s website for visit for specific opening times

24/06/2026

28/05/2026

Interested in fashion and sustainability? Join us for the Re: Fashion Challenge 2026 this August!

Work with fashion design mentors to create repurposed and up-cycled outfits, style your looks in a professional photoshoot and maybe win a prize for the best design. No previous textiles or sewing experience necessary - we will teach you basic sewing and pattern cutting skills!

This is a FREE creative week-long workshop and competition for young people aged 13 to 18 years.

🗓️ Taking place from Monday 3rd - Friday 7th August from 10am - 3pm

📍at Gawthorpe Textiles Collection,
Suite 26, Unit 2, Northlight House,
Pendle Road, Brierfield, BB9 5FL

Places are limited, please email [email protected] to sign up or find out more 📧