UNFOLDING WELSH TEXTILES: PAST & PRESENT
13th September - 2nd November 2025
This exciting research and making project has been initiated and curated by Makers Guild Wales member Mandy Nash and made possible with the financial support of the Ashley Family Foundation. Grant funding has enabled the Makers Guild Wales to deliver a diverse mix of textile based craft skills to the public, through outreach residencies at schools and community centres as well as through our August Textile Tasters week here at Craft in the Bay. Over 300 people of all ages have had free access to be creative and learn new skills through textile focused workshops and taster sessions.
We wanted the project to draw attention to many of the incredible textile skills we have in Wales and to the growing interest in Heritage Crafts and the importance of their preservation. Also to the immense value of creative activity for wellbeing and this has definitely been evident in the many wonderful testimonials from those that have taken part in the project.
Alongside the educational events taking place through the year many of our guild members have been busy researching and creating new work for this fabulous exhibition here at Craft in the Bay - Unfolding Welsh Textiles, Past & Present. Here you can explore the individual approaches to the challenge of creating new work inspired by an historic textile item – whether this was from a private collection, heirloom or seen and studied at a museum’s collection within Wales. A group visit to see and study textiles from the archive collection at the Museum of Welsh Life, St. Fagans last year was very inspiring to all and we are very grateful to the team there for their support. The incredible Wrexham Quilt in particular made quite an impression on many of our exhibiting artists.
Each of our exhibiting artists shows incredible understanding and skill with their chosen materials and processes. Their final pieces having evolved from their personal interests, experimentation with material and reference to our rich textile history in Wales.
Exhibiting Artists: Claire Cawte / Riitta Sinkkonen Davies / Ruth Harries / Alison Moger / Mandy Nash / Jill Riley / Sue Shields / Lynda Shell / Susan Smith / Alison Taylor/ Susie Vaughan
This project has been made possible through the support of the Ashley Family Foundation.
We wanted the project to draw attention to many of the incredible textile skills we have in Wales and to the growing interest in Heritage Crafts and the importance of their preservation. Also to the immense value of creative activity for wellbeing and this has definitely been evident in the many wonderful testimonials from those that have taken part in the project.
Alongside the educational events taking place through the year many of our guild members have been busy researching and creating new work for this fabulous exhibition here at Craft in the Bay - Unfolding Welsh Textiles, Past & Present. Here you can explore the individual approaches to the challenge of creating new work inspired by an historic textile item – whether this was from a private collection, heirloom or seen and studied at a museum’s collection within Wales. A group visit to see and study textiles from the archive collection at the Museum of Welsh Life, St. Fagans last year was very inspiring to all and we are very grateful to the team there for their support. The incredible Wrexham Quilt in particular made quite an impression on many of our exhibiting artists.
Each of our exhibiting artists shows incredible understanding and skill with their chosen materials and processes. Their final pieces having evolved from their personal interests, experimentation with material and reference to our rich textile history in Wales.
Exhibiting Artists: Claire Cawte / Riitta Sinkkonen Davies / Ruth Harries / Alison Moger / Mandy Nash / Jill Riley / Sue Shields / Lynda Shell / Susan Smith / Alison Taylor/ Susie Vaughan
This project has been made possible through the support of the Ashley Family Foundation.
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Makers exploring the archive collection at the Museum of Welsh Life, St. Fagans
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Community Craft Skills Sharing
As part of this exciting project three makers have been busy teaching young people and adults skills in different textile making processes.
Alison Moger worked with pupils at Brynteg Comprehensive School & Primary School
Claire Cawte worked with pupils at Croeserw Primary School and Croeserw Community Knitting Club, Port Talbot
Sue Shields worked with Radyr Library Art Club
