British Textile Biennial

09/09/2026

09/09/2026

Fifty years on, the great documentary photographer Daniel Meadows returns to Bancroft Mill. This exhibition recreates an original touring show from the 1970s, when these extraordinary photographs were taken, many of them documenting life at Bancroft Shed in Barnoldswick.

Shuttles, Steam and Soot is now open at Bancroft Mill Engine Museum, the surviving part of the mill, from 5th September 2026 before touring to other northern locations.

Daniel Meadows is now widely recognised as a pioneer of twentieth century documentary photography. His archive is held in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Back in 1975, the young Daniel Meadows began two years as photographer-in residence to Pendle Borough Council, with support from Mid Pennine Arts. Here, he found himself drawn to Queen Street Mill, and especially to Bancroft Shed, the last surviving steam powered cotton weaving mill in Pendle. Daniel began
documenting the life of the mills and getting to know the people who worked in them.

Shuttles, Steam and Soot was first exhibited in 1978, as part of the Half Moon Photography Workshop’s radical programme of affordable, portable, touring shows. Touring widely from galleries to community centres, from the Shetland Islands to Germany, the exhibition reached a huge audience before it was eventually lost.

Shuttles, Steam and Soot will be exhibited at Bancroft Mill Engine Museum from Saturday 5th September to Saturday 31st October (open Wed-Sat, 11am-4pm). Admission is free except on the special opening days called Steaming Sundays, when both engines will be running at various times. Entry on these days is from £8 and concessions are available. See the Museum website for details.

The Steaming Sundays during the exhibition run are on the 6th & 27th September and 18th October.

Shuttles, Steam and Soot in Lancashire is a Pendle Radicals tour presented by Mid Pennine Arts and British Textile Biennial with support from the volunteers of Bancroft Mill Engine Museum.

08/09/2026

INTERWOVEN - Threads & Futures Connected opens to the public tomorrow, a collaboration between British Textile Biennial, Manchester Fashion Week, Castlefield Gallery and artists Pippa Eason and , exploring threads, materials and the future of Fashion.

We want to thank everyone who’s contributed to our part in this exhibition, including Amber Butchart | Fashion Historian, Claire Wellesley-Smith, Gillian Berry and Alison Iddon from Haworth Art Gallery, Salford Slow Fashion, katende Godfrey, IGC FASHION, Carmem Saito, The Making Rooms, Northumbria University, Living Construction, blunik, Imperial College Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London and Slow Lane Studio

Featuring excerpts from British Textile Biennial 2025: The Materials Library: natural fibres, regenerative resources & next-gen materials The Synthetic Revolution: the history and legacy of synthetic textiles Woven Worlds: an ethical fashion collection by Godfrey Katende (IGC Fashion, Uganda) x Salford Slow Fashion.

Plus, the short film Will-of-the-Wisp by Pippa Eason & Nick Booton - a meditation on care, attention and our connection to craft and the natural world with music by Manchester artist Sarah Bates.

Presented by the Northern Fashion Collective, in collaboration with Castlefield Gallery, British Textile Biennial, SARAH BATES, Pippa Eason and Nick Booton.

📍 Castlefield Gallery | 2 Hewitt St, Manchester, M15 4GB | 9-20 September

06/09/2026

Congratulations to Community Clothing on 10 remarkable years of fabulous clothes, creative opportunities, nurturing skills and talent, and shining a much-deserved spotlight on Blackburn and Lancashire’s extraordinary textile story.

British Textile Biennial is proud to have worked alongside you as an important partner over the years, and we celebrate the energy, ambition and opportunities you continue to bring to this area!

03/09/2026

British Textile Biennial’s Artistic Director, Laurie Peake MBE is speaking on the ‘From Soil to Shelf’ panel as part of Manchester Fashion Week

From Soil to Shelf - How regenerative materials are reshaping the future of fashion.

🗓️ Wednesday 9th September, 12.30pm
📍 Campfield Studios, Manchester

This is an industry only event. Individuals can apply for accreditation/access via the Manchester Fashion Week website: https://www.fashionweekmanchester.co.uk/accreditation 🔗

Accreditation is reserved for fashion industry professionals attending the events in a work capacity. This includes members of the press, media, photographers, content creators, broadcasters, stylists, buyers and industry professionals looking to experience the event and connect with the people shaping the future of fashion.

Please contact Manchester Fashion Week regarding any further information ℹ️

26/08/2026

Join The Making Rooms this Sunday for a free workshop to learn how process our Homegrown Homespun flax into a workable fibre!

📍 The workshop takes place on Sunday 30th August at 12:30pm at the Making Rooms (9 Town Hall Street, Blackburn, BB2 1AG)

Book your free slot at https://sign-in.makingrooms.org/workshops/278/ 🔗

05/08/2026

Our friends at Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery have launched a new open call for all artists across the North-West — it’s your time to shine! More information below ⬇️

Repost • Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery

We’re opening our gallery doors to celebrate the incredible breadth, originality, and diversity of contemporary art in our region. Whether you’re an emerging talent, an established practitioner, or returning to your practice, we want to see your work!

From painting, sculpture, and photography to textiles, ceramics, moving image, and mixed media — all forms are welcome. No set theme, just pure contemporary creativity.

Here is what’s up for grabs:

🏆 Paid Commission / Artwork Purchase (worth up to £1,000 for The Whitaker’s permanent collection or a new commission)
🏆 Art Materials Package (a selection of high-quality supplies)
🏆 People’s Choice Award (artisan gift hamper + limited-edition artist print)

🗓️ KEY DATES TO REMEMBER:
Submissions Delivery: 1st – 4th October | 10am – 4pm
Exhibition Opening: Saturday 17th October | 2pm – 4pm
Exhibition Runs: 17th October – 13th December

📍 WHERE: The Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery
🎟️ ENTRY FEE: £5 per artwork (submit up to 3 physical or digital artworks)

💫 Judging Panel: Jamie Holman, Jude Wainwright, Zara Saghir & Gaynor Seville.

Click the link in Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery bio to download your submission form and read full guidelines! 🔗

(Graduating/Recent grads: Don’t forget to also check out MADE IT 2026 by Short Supply | Mollie & Bek hosted alongside us!) Link in bio ☝️

21/07/2026

Daniel Meadow’s touring exhibition Steam and Soot is now open at Queen Street Textile Museum! On Saturday, as part of this exhibition, we also hosted a special in conversation event between Daniel and BTB artistic director Laurie Peake MBE, where audiences had the opportunity to hear about the exhibition and it’s legacy from the artist himself - thank you to all who attended!

Fifty years after capturing the vibrant working life of Lancashire’s cotton mills, pioneering documentary photographer Daniel Meadows is returning to where it all began.

The iconic 1970s touring exhibition Shuttles, Steam and Soot has been faithfully recreated, offering a uniquely vivid portrait of Lancashire’s workers, from weavers to steeplejacks. See these unforgettable images in the very locations they were captured!

📍Queen Street Mill Textile Museum (before touring other Pennine Lancashire locations)

📆 Wednesday 8th July – Saturday 29th August 2026 open Wed–Sat, 12pm – 4pm

Exhibition admission is FREE! (Wider museum access is £5 per adult, under 18s free).

Presented in partnership between British Textile Biennial and Mid Pennine Arts

📸 Images by Diane Muldowney

20/07/2026

All of us at BTB are mourning the loss of artist, Christine Borland who created one of the most beautiful works we’ve ever commissioned, Projection Cloth.

The fustian cloth, with a linen warp and cotton weft, historically linked to Lancashire, was painstakingly hand woven in Pendle Heritage Centre Cruck Barn over several days by Christine on an enormous loom, hand-hewn from timbers found in Pendle Forest, using cotton and flax fibre intimately linked to Christine’s ongoing work.

The four films projected onto the cloth told a story of women’s lives emerging from a digital figure’s abstracted motions, accompanied by a soundtrack of a dialogue between the artist and her daughter, Grace Borland Sinclair. From growing and hand-working, through industrialisation, to our digital age and into a speculative future, the work touches on plant and textile lore and the symbolism associated with the demonised image of women as witches. This resonates deeply in Pendle, where Projection Cloth was created, as ten women and one man, most of them linked to textile practices, were among the last people hanged for witchcraft in England in 1612.

We all cherish the joy, light and sparkling intelligence Christine brought into our lives and work. Britain has lost one of its greats, and all who knew her have lost an incredibly special person, not least her remarkable family.

03/07/2026

Fifty years after capturing the vibrant working life of Lancashire’s cotton mills, pioneering documentary photographer Daniel Meadows is returning to where it all began.

The iconic 1970s touring exhibition Shuttles, Steam and Soot has been faithfully recreated, offering a uniquely vivid portrait of Lancashire’s workers, from weavers to steeplejacks. See these unforgettable images in the very locations they were captured!

📍Queen Street Mill Textile Museum (before touring other Pennine Lancashire locations)

📆 Wednesday 8th July – Saturday 29th August 2026 open Wed–Sat, 12pm – 4pm

Exhibition admission is FREE! (Wider museum access is £5 per adult, under 18s free).

📣 Special Event: In Conversation with Daniel Meadows

Don’t miss the chance to hear from the photographer himself! Daniel will be ‘in conversation’ with Laurie Peake MBE (Artistic Director of British Textile Biennial) on Saturday 18th July.

Presented in partnership between British Textile Biennial and Mid Pennine Arts.

Spaces are limited! Book your tickets for the talk through https://www6.apps.lancashire.gov.uk/w/webpage/event-details?eventid=3830229 🔗

📸 Images by Daniel Meadows