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Art gallery loom celebrates the world of weaving

John Bray
BBC News, Birmingham
Tegen Kimbley A woman with a blue and white patterned outfit sat at a loom weavingTegen Kimbley
Birmingham textile artist Mahawa Keita, who is artist in residence at Birmingham City University, will be working with the loom at the Ikon Gallery in August

An exhibition celebrating the art of weaving has opened at a Birmingham gallery.

Thread the Loom, at the Ikon Gallery, sees weavers and university students taking part in mini-residencies - with their finished work then going on display.

A loom has been loaned to the Ikon by Birmingham City University (BCU) for the exhibition which runs until September.

"Ikon's weaver residencies will raise the profile of textiles generally, and weave specifically," said Zoe Hillyard, textile design senior lecturer at BCU.

A student weaver at work at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery

"At a time when creative subjects are under pressure within the school curriculum, it is a valuable opportunity to showcase the origins of the materials that feed more familiar design disciplines, including fashion and interior textiles," Ms Hillyard explained.

Ikon artistic director Linzi Stauvers added: "Thread the Loom is part of a series of Ikon exhibitions that celebrate the art school infrastructure of the West Midlands."

The gallery is also staging a summer exhibition called SPAN by Korean artist Seulgi Lee, which is her first solo UK show.

David Rowan Multi-coloured yarn on a loom David Rowan
Weavers who will be based at the Ikon over the summer include Chantelle Folarin, Clare Langford, Andree Walker and Theo Knight
Tegen Kimbley A close-up image of parts of a loomTegen Kimbley
Textiles produced on the loom will be exhibited alongside work from artists Raisa Kabir, Alis Oldfield, Bharti Parmar, Dinah Prentice and Su Richardson
Tegen Kimbley A close-up image of yarn being threaded through a loomTegen Kimbley
Thread the Loom is the second in a series of three exhibitions including heritage crafts. Last summer Start the Press focused on printmaking and next year Ikon will explore ceramics

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