The British Textile Biennial throws a spotlight on the nation’s creativity, innovation and expression in textiles against the backdrop of the impressive infrastructure of the cotton industry in Pennine Lancashire.
With its epic mills and grandiose civic architecture along the country’s longest waterway, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, the landscape tells the story of textiles. This biennial festival celebrates that story while showcasing its contemporary expression with the community that has textiles in its DNA.
BTB23 looked at the environmental and human costs of the textile industry at the service of fast fashion over the last two centuries and explores possible alternatives. In artist commissions, public conversations and international collaborations, BTB23 asked if the creation of cloth can be a regenerative act – regenerating nature and people.
