Local Boys in Bradford, 1972, photo by Don McCullin.

Layers of printed fabric within an old quilt piece

Shreds of printed cotton attached to wool batting within an old quilt piece

I did some unmaking and wrote about it here clairewellesleysmith.substack.com/p/unmaking-q...

Love this, I knew it from the woven textile industry and have a great picture of a flyping machine for folding long pieces of finished cloth. Never heard it in relation to socks!

Brilliant Bill Ryder-Jones at Hebden Bridge Trades Club last night

A guide to the Guardian’s 2025 charity appeal partners This year’s appeal theme is hope – we are partnering with five charities supporting grassroots community work that challenges division, hate and despair

Absolutely thrilled that our ‘We Will Sing’ partners The Linking Network are one of five grassroots charities selected by The Guardian for this years’ Christmas appeal. Please support them all as they seek to foster hope and diminish hate www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Free screening of The Man in the White Suit (1951) 2pm, Saturday 18th Oct at The Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington as part of the #britishtextilebiennial programme. I’ll be giving a brief introduction with co-curator of The Synthetic Revolution exhibition Amber Butchart.

Towneley Hall is excited to be hosting the exhibition Pioneers of the Material World as part of the British Textile Biennial, which opens tomorrow!

The exhibition shows how clothing made for survival in extreme environments was later redefined for high street fashion and counter culture.

See…..

RIP Tony Harrison.

Reading 'V' - THE great northern poem of the last 50 years - at 13 years old blew my mind apart.

famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/tony_h...

Laboratory installation

Laboratory stories through 1950s and 1960s objects

Crimplene patchwork and Terylene bed covers

Amber Butchart stitching in The Haworth Art Gallery

Busy install week at The Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington with my co-curator Amber Butchart. The Synthetic Revolution tells the Lancashire story of the invention of polyester for the 2025 British Textile Biennial. Opens 2nd October.

Beautiful night at #durhambrass listening to @billryderjones.bsky.social play Iechyd Da with #nasuwtriversideband

Dawn over Haworth, West Yorkshire

The Tower, Steve Messam

Wool sculpture by Steve Messam

Sunrise, wool, Haworth moor

First light above Haworth and a trip over the moors to see #wilduplands @bradford2025.co.uk #stevemessam #thetower

First light at the Cow and Calf Rocks, Ilkley for the beginning of #thebradfordprogress @bradford2025.co.uk @paraorchestra.bsky.social @commonerschoir.bsky.social

Allotment early morning, Shipley, West Yorkshire.

Allotment, growing structures, greenhouse

Tulips and a tortoiseshell cat

Damson blossom

Allotment evenings return at last along with the allotment cat, last seen in August last year.

I Want More Disabled Rage YouTube video by Dolly Sen

I was commissioned by @dadafest.bsky.social to make a sculpture, and I made one out of charity collecting cans to spell out the word 'RAGE'. I made a film of me making the sculpture and reciting my poem 'We Need More Disabled Rage'

youtu.be/SoqqpvgFfFo?...

Stone building with light from windows from opposite building

Reflected light, Stott Hill, Bradford

Image credit: Ruxx Naqvi (X @ruxxnaqvi)

Image credit: Modern Mooch

Image credit: LDRS

☕️ It's notoriously difficult to list or preserve the intangible heritage of caffs, so this an interesting curatorial alternative.

Fountains Coffee House & Grill in Bradford's Oastler Centre opened 1968, closed 2023. Now several original fixtures have gone on display at
@bradfordmuseums.bsky.social

Me too

Will dig them out. You’re local to me I think?

Took some photos in there just as Urban Splash started the reidential conversion.

Thanks Lauren :)

Embroidered blue plaque: LOUISA PESEL 1870-1947 embroiderer and educator lived here

Black and white photo of a group of artisan craftsmen

2/2 I shared a Bradford project that explored the story of Louisa Pesel, embroiderer and educator, and her work during WW1 establishing the Belgian Institute in the city that provided craft workshops for Belgian refugees.

Sofie Verclyte - Migrating Heritage book about stitch projects in Shatila refugee camp

Herbs and spices on a flower patterned shawl during Red Star Line Museum sensory workshop about home/homesickness

Gallery space with workshop participants at Amsab-ISH Ghent.

Museum sign propped against a wall at Museum Dr Guislain, Ghent

Inspiring week in Ghent working on the International Winter School Cultural Heritage & Wellbeing organised by #TOON and @bartdenil.bsky.social Projects supporting displaced people using creative health 1/2

Bradford District Museums & Galleries - Bradford and St Blaise This rather fascinating blog, written by our Assistant Curator, Lauren,  explores why Saint Blaise, an Armenian doctor and bishop from the 4th century, was

Happy #SaintBlaise Day! 200 years ago the largest St. Blaise celebration took place in #Bradford. This Bradford Museums blog I wrote a few years ago details the Blaise procession of 1825 . 🧶🧵🎉

bradfordmuseums.org/bradford-and...

Honouring Bradford’s Textile Heritage: Our Role in Supplying Fabric for the Bradford City of Culture 2025 - William Halstead - The Finest Manufacturers of British Mohair With the opening of Bradford City of Culture 2025, William Halstead is excited to announce our involvement in "We Will Sing" by Ann Hamilton.

Okay, I’m biased but who wouldn’t love this… www.williamhalstead.co.uk/bradford-cit...

One of my favourite emails of the year today - my PLR statement telling me the number of times my books were borrowed from public libraries in the last year. It makes me so happy to know that they are out there and still being read…

Pleased to have contributed to the new Cultures of Creative Health book from @hudunipress.bsky.social edited by Rowan Bailey. I wrote about a project connecting Bradford groups to the work of embroiderer and educator Louisa Pesel (1870-1947).

Fantastic - really looking forward this. Congratulations June!

We Will Sing | Bradford 2025 Ann Hamilton transforms the immense top floor at Salts Mill for her largest solo UK installation to date

Excited to be able to share this bradford2025.co.uk/event/we-wil...

RISE stage lit in purple, pink and blue and a large crowd

Large crowd waiting for the RISE performance to begin

Bradford City Hall lit up

Such a good start to Bradford’s #cityofculture year last night at RISE despite the freezing temperatures. A truly community centred piece of performance and I loved the way the architecture of the centre of the city played a part.