Celebrating Catterntide
Camilla Hanney’s ‘The Fragile Textile of our Desires’, photo by Reece Straw.
Saturday 23 November 2019
11am - 4pm
Free, open to all
Celebrating Catterntide is a one day festival that commemorates the long forgotten ‘Catterntide Day’, an annual celebration of St Catherine, the patron saint of lace and textile makers. UK Young Artists, Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) Lace Archive and Backlit Gallery (itself a former textile factory) host a range of family-friendly activities to ignite and inspire people on this important archive and Nottingham’s social history.
Join us for some traditional ‘Cattern cake’, and take part in up to ten different activities, all inspired by lace and the historical Catterntide celebrations. At NTU’s Bonington Building, learn about the history of lace as an industry and art form through talks, workshops, storytelling and tours of NTU’s renowned Lace Archive, featuring over 75,000 pieces of lace. At Backlit Gallery, understand the creative process of lace making and explore new contemporary techniques and applications of lace through workshops and installations. From jewellery making to a piano made of lace; creating lace from extruded plastics to composing an intricate lace carpet from icing sugar, there’s something for the whole family.
All activities are free and you can drop in whenever you like, except the NTU Lace Archive Tours which are free but require booking due to the small number of people able to access and enjoy the archive.
See the full schedule of events below.
Jenny Hibberd and her ‘Lace Piano’, Photo by Fabrice Gagos.
Events
Backlit Gallery
11am - 4pm: Explore an exhibition showcasing work made by local students at Nottingham Girls’ Academy, through workshops led by Charlie Birtles
11am - 4pm: ‘Keeping Cattern with Pattern’ - join in creating an interactive ‘carpet of lace’ made by sieving icing sugar through lace samples, illustrating the complexities involved in this unique artform, with artist Camilla Hanney
11am - 4pm: Screening of short documentary by Jenny Hibberd, ‘The Last Twisthand’ featuring staff from the Cluny Lace Factory.
11.30am - 1pm: Recycled Lace Workshop - make your own lace from recycled materials and extruded plastics with artist Charlie Birtles. Open to all but particularly recommended for 10-16yrs
2pm - 3.30pm: Shrinky Dink Lace Workshop - create your own jewellery and key chains using lace patterns and acetate with artist Jasmine Ellie Brown. Open to all but particularly recommended for 10-16yrs
Nottingham Trent University (Bonington Building)
11am - 4pm: Explore an exhibition showcasing work made by NTU’s Saturday Art Club group, in workshops led by Jasmine Ellie Brown
11am - 4pm: Discover the ‘Curiosity Cabinet’ of items from NTU’s Lace Archive
11am - 4pm: play Jenny Hibberd’s ‘Lace Piano’ - an interactive playable piano made of lace. Instead of the traditional notes, the piano plays pitched recordings from the machines at Cluny Factory. Alongside this, watch a screening of short documentary ‘The Last Twisthand’ featuring staff from the Cluny Lace Factory.
11am, 12pm & 1pm (45 mins per tour): Take the rare opportunity to explore NTU’s renowned Lace Archive, featuring over 75,000 pieces of lace. Please book your place by emailing info@ukyoungartists.co.uk, letting us know which tour time you would like to attend and how many people are in your group. Please note these tours are for ages 14+. Spaces are very limited, so book early to avoid disappointment!
11am - 3pm: Storytelling sessions with Nicky Rafferty, exploring tales inspired by the archive, Catterntide and Nottingham’s lace heritage. Open to young children and families (up to 10 yrs)
11.30am - 12.15pm: Enjoy a talk by Professor Amanda Briggs-Goode, head of Fashion and Textiles at NTU and head of the Lace Heritage research group. Learn about the history of the archive and NTU’s journey with lace as an industry and an art form. Please let us know if you would like to attend this talk by emailing info@ukyoungartists.co.uk
11.30am - 1pm: Shrinky Dink Lace Workshop - create your own jewellery and key chains using lace patterns and acetate with artist Jasmine Ellie Brown. Open to all but particularly recommended for 10-16yrs.
2pm - 3.30pm: Recycled Lace Workshop - make your own lace from recycled materials and extruded plastics with artist Charlie Birtles. Open to all but particularly recommended for 10-16yrs.
NTU Lace Archive Tour. Photo by Sarah Woolf
Made possible by generous support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.