In collaboration with The Super Slow Way and the British Textile Biennial, we invited textile artist Emma Blackburn to be our Artist in Residence at Community Arts by ZK for our Women’s Group Textile Project.

 

Emma is a Manchester-based artist with a background in embroidered textiles. Her work explores themes of identity, community and human experience though story telling in cloth and sculpture.

 

Emma delivered a series of 10 workshop sessions, online and in person, to explore people’s relationships with textiles. The project involved lots of working outdoors in the sunshine, using a range of textile techniques and experimenting with different methods and materials. The group enjoyed sharing their stories and discussing how art helped to combat feelings of loneliness.

 

The aim of the project was to build connections and support people struggling with mental health and feelings of isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.