5th - 27th June 2021
From Saturday 5th June you can start to explore and experience WOVEN activities in various locations across Kirklees. Then look out for COVID safe participatory activities towards the end of June.
View our full range of activities
woveninkirklees.co.uk
@WovenInKirklees
AN OVERVIEW OF WOVEN FESTIVAL WOVEN in Kirklees is a celebration of innovation in textiles across Kirklees. It is initiated and funded by Kirklees Council, but is owned by everyone, including community groups, textile businesses, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district. WOVEN’s theme is generations of innovators, connecting a strong heritage with today’s innovative developments in industry, university research, a vibrant arts and crafts scene and the creative expression of the district’s rich and diverse communities. This year’s WOVEN in Kirklees will take place from the 5th -27th June and will include a varied programme of activities focusing on the specific themes and projects outlined here.
We expect all activities to be confirmed and listed on the website by Monday 3rd May. However, at time of print we are only just beginning to emerge from lockdown and contingency planning around COVID regulations for June could result in some activities being listed or changed on the website after this date. Please ensure you check the website for up to date details before attending any WOVEN activities.
KEEP UPDATED For the most up to date information, follow us on social media:
@woveninkirklees To see the full WOVEN programme and activity details, visit our website:
www.woveninkirklees.co.uk
How YOU CAN GET INVOLVED Volunteer Sign Up There are lots of opportunities to get involved with WOVEN as a volunteer, and the festival wouldn’t happen without all the amazing volunteers who help with stewarding. However WOVEN is not just a festival that pops up every two years and does nothing in between, so even if stewarding isn’t your thing, you can still become a WOVEN volunteer. You could support longer term projects, contribute to the planning and development process for future festivals, take part in textile-themed research, or maybe even help us out with some admin! So please do sign up as a volunteer through the Get Involved section on the website. We really couldn’t do this without you!
Big RAINBOW Knit and Growing Colour Together These two big participatory projects have been running throughout lockdown. Participants have been knitting thousands of squares for the Big Rainbow Knit installations and also growing plants, foraging and using kitchen waste to make natural dyes for Growing Colour Together.
The projects will continue to grow and develop as we move towards the next WOVEN festival in 2023 and we’ll probably come up with some new ones too! So if you’re interested in getting involved check out the website where you can sign up for our general and/or project specific mailing lists to get more information.
Planning for WOVEN 2023 WOVEN is designed in conversation and collaboration with communities. We aim to make the planning and development process as transparent and accessible as possible and are always on the look out for community-led projects and initiatives. If you would like to be part of the conversation, then get in touch and we’ll let you know when we start planning for 2023!
Contact Information General enquiries: woven@hatchprojects.org.uk Press enquiries: gini@hatchprojects.org.uk Website www.woveninkirklees.co.uk
THEME ONE
Exploring Creativity Across Kirklees Batley t’Rainbow The Batley t’Rainbow is a yarn installation at Batley train station, created with the help of the local community and schools using kaleidoscope patterns, recycling fabrics and rainbow weaving. It will be installed on Saturday 12th June to celebrate World Wide Knit-in-Public Day.
THE BIG RAINBOW KNIT The Big Rainbow Knit will create a unique yarn bombing of the grand front pillars at Huddersfield train station created by an army of knitters and yarn makers and will be installed on Saturday 5th June. Both installations will be in place until Sunday 27th June when they will be dismantled and made into blankets for charities.
LOTS TO SEE Jump on a train to see the Big Rainbow Knit installations at Huddersfield and Batley train stations, together with community-led yarn bombing across Kirklees.
To see the full WOVEN programme and activity details, visit our website: www.woveninkirklees.co.uk
Listen to I N T E R W O V E N, a unique soundscape of Kirklees’ mill heritage past and present - a mixture of machinery, work, storytelling, brass music and boliyan. Look out for unique textile artist commissions in Dewsbury, family focussed fun with a window trail through Huddersfield, and celebrations of our Growing Colour Together project that encourages growing, foraging and using household waste to make and create natural dyes.
THEME TWO
WOVEN Together:
Families & Young People FUN TOGETHER Working in partnership with Our Biennale - Children’s Festival, WOVEN welcomes families to have lots of fun together, explore the thriving textile industry on your doorstep and get creative with yarn. On Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th June there will be a series of live and online demonstrations, as well as the culmination of various projects that have been taking place in schools during the last year.
ACTIVITIES Look out for drop in activities taking place around the Piazza Shopping centre for families and children of all ages. Come and see an exhibition of large scale sculptures created by children and young people across Kirklees as part of Our Biennale and inspired by the Joanna Vasconcelos exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Be inspired by creative careers in the textile industry - it’s not only about working in the mills these days!
KEEP UPDATED For the most up to date information, follow us on social media:
@woveninkirklees To see the full WOVEN programme and activity details, visit our website:
www.woveninkirklees.co.uk
THEME THREE
Showcasing Textile Science and Innovation DID YOU KNOW? Kirklees is home to some of the great innovations in textile science. Textiles influence almost every part of our lives from medical textiles to climate change, our landscape and leisure! WOVEN will showcase the science and innovation of textiles with talks from the Space Shed, shining a light on all the incredible work happening behind the scenes in Kirklees that is inspiring the next generation of innovators.
The Space Shed The Space Shed is brought to WOVEN by Unlimited Theatre and is the Unlimited Space Agency‘s spectacular mobile HQ recently winning ‘Unique’ Shed of the Year! Appearing at music, science and arts festivals across the UK, The Space Shed plays host to inspirational storytelling shows, interviews with leading scientists and sets by guest DJs. Could there be a better place to showcase innovation and look to the possibilities of the future?
To see the full WOVEN programme and activity details, visit our website: www.woveninkirklees.co.uk
THEME FOUR
WE ARE Celebrating Participation And finally... The final weekend of the festival, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th June, will be a celebration of two long term projects, The Big Rainbow Knit and Growing Colour Together, where participants have knitted thousands of squares for the yarn bomb installations and explored the techniques and processes involved in natural dyeing and how they can be applied to textile art and making.
THE BIG RAINBOW KNIT
Growing Colour Together Visit Ravensknowle Park to find out more about how to make natural dyes from suitable plants and materials and how the dyes can be used in textile artworks and fashion. Our ambition is to build a network of ‘colour gardens’ across Kirklees, come and find out how you can help make that happen!
Join us on St George’s Square in Huddersfield for a weekend of knitting themed fun. Browse yarn stalls and displays, watch scaled-up craft demonstrations, and soak up the atmosphere with roaming theatrics and buskers. All with the backdrop of the spectacular Big Rainbow Knit yarn bombed pillars of Huddersfield train station. You can also expect some sneaky yarn bombing of other areas in the square!
COMMUNITY Many different partners and communities contribute to the festival programme so you’ll also find communityled events popping up all across Kirklees
OUR Partners & Funders Produced by
Core Partners
View our full range of activities
woveninkirklees.co.uk
@WovenInKirklees