Profiles

Here we celebrate designers, artists, practitioners or researchers working with textiles who have otherwise been under-represented within curriculums, the history of textiles, and are likely to be rarely mentioned in classrooms.

Please take time to get to know them and be inspired by their diverse approaches to textiles and textile processes.

Aboubakar Fofana

Aboubakar Fofana was born in Mali but raised in France. Today he splits his time between Bamako and Paris. Having trained under a master-Japanese

Hana Getachew

Hana Getachew is a New York based designer and founder of Bolé Road Textiles, which merges artisanal Ethiopian woven fabrics with contemporary

Rachna Garodia

Rachna is a tapestry weaver and embroiderer who trained at the National Institute of Design in India and The Royal School of Needlework in London.

Molly Vaughan

Performance and textiles artist documenting violence against transgender people in the United States in their Project 42 series.

Ana Lupas

Lupas is a Romanian visual artist exploring the expressive power of textiles.

Rosie Lee Tompkins (Effie Mae Martin Howard)

Tompkins combined the finest materials chosen for their textures and light-reflecting qualities with distressed T-shirts and hand-painted portraits.

Rezia Wahid MBE

Bangladeshi born British hand weaver Rezia Wahid was awarded an MBE in 2015 for her contribution to the arts in London.

Althea McNish

Althea McNish was one of the first women of West Indian heritage to gain recognition in her field of Textile design. Having been born in Trinidad and

Mawuena Kattah

Mawuena Kattah is a multi-disciplinary artist working with painting, ceramics and textiles.

Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings

British-Sudanese Textile Artist awarded an OBE in 2022 for her work with the deaf and disabled community.

Richard McVetis

McVetis is a graduate of the Royal College of Art in 2008 who lives and works in London records time and space through hand embroidery.

AI KIJIMA

Japanese artist Ai Kijima creates pop art-inspired textile art showcasing layered quilts patchworked from cartoon characters and other decorative bed