Tapestry of Voices
- Event
Tapestry of Voices is Art Voyage Biennial’s new major public art programme that celebrates textile sculpture, preserves cultural heritage, and expands public engagement with contemporary textiles.
Tapestry of Voices is a major artist-led textile and sculptural programme exploring textile practices as a living archive of migration, memory, and cultural identity. Bringing together contemporary artists and diaspora communities across Britain, the project inspires new textile sculptures, delivers workshops and mentorship, and culminates in a large-scale public exhibition in London in Autumn 2026. The project is a six-month heritage, research, and public art programme dedicated to preserving, documenting, and sharing textile traditions and personal histories of Asian diaspora communities in Britain, recognising their vital contribution to the UK’s cultural heritage.
Why It Matters
Migration has shaped British cultural identity for generations, yet many of these stories remain invisible within public art and cultural institutions.
Tapestry of Voices addresses this gap by:
Expanding whose stories are represented in sculpture
Challenging traditional narratives of cultural heritage
Creating new models of artist-community collaboration
Making sculpture accessible to wider audiences
the programme:
Artist-Led Community Workshops
Mentorships & Workplace Experience
A Public Exhibition
A Digital Archive Documenting Stories and Processes
These activities ensure wide public engagement and long-term accessibility.
The Project will be delivered through 3 phases:
Phase 1: Community-led textile workshops
June – August 2026
Three series of textile workshops focused on developing practical and transferable skills in felting, weaving, tapestry techniques, soft sculpture, and hand-stitching, will be delivered for local community groups.
We have selected three lead artists whose practices centre on textiles, identity and community engagement to develop these workshops: Divya Sharma, Zethu Maseko and Sarah Waters. The workshops will combine practical textile processes with reflective discussions and wellbeing-centred activities, creating inclusive and supportive environments. Participants will explore storytelling through making, sharing personal and collective narratives.
Our workshop delivery will centre women who have experienced social, economic, or cultural marginalisation, including migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking women. Many face systemic barriers to creative opportunities, feelings of displacement, and limited access to safe cultural spaces.
This phase positions textiles as both a skilled discipline and a contemporary storytelling practice.
These Workshops will be delivered with 3 different Artists collaborating with Community Groups:
Divya Sharma
Zethu Maseko
Sarah Waters
Phase 2: Mentoring and Workplace experience
Online, July-August 2026
Participants progress into a month of online mentoring, developing curatorial literacy, portfolio readiness and sector awareness. They will have access to free mentorship pathways designed to extend their artistic development and create long-term opportunities. These programmes recognise the diverse needs, capacities, and ambitions of participants, offering both open-access support and an intensive, selective track.
Each mentee will receive support through peer learning, technical and creative guidance to help them develop new works for exhibition, practical training in project management and exhibition preparation, networking sessions, and visibility and promotion through Art Voyage’s channels.
Phase 3: Public Exhibition and Legacy
October 2026
The programme culminates in a public exhibition, presenting new textile works created through the workshops and mentorship programme, and pieces by selected invited artists. Together, these works will highlight shared themes of intergenerational memory and cultural resilience.
Public workshops, talks and tours expand access and engagement, while a digital archive and final stakeholder roundtable ensure learning is shared and sustained.
Our exhibition will be held at the dandi Battersea gallery space, in collaboration with Schoeni Projects
About the Project
Tapestry of Voices is a six-month heritage, research, and public art programme dedicated to preserving, documenting, and sharing textile traditions and personal histories of Asian diaspora communities in Britain, recognising their vital contribution to the UK’s cultural heritage.
Textile practices such as embroidery, weaving, and stitching have played an important role in the lives of many individuals and families who migrated to Britain over the past century. These practices hold stories of migration, settlement, identity, and belonging, forming an important yet often underrepresented part of Britain’s social and cultural history. Much of this knowledge exists only in personal and family contexts and is at risk of being lost as generations pass.
Through workshops and artist-led sessions, participants will share their experiences, learn traditional and contemporary textile techniques, and contribute to the creation of new sculptural works inspired by their heritage and life in Britain.
The programme will culminate in a free public exhibition in London in Autumn 2026, presenting textile sculptures alongside community-created works and recorded stories. This exhibition will provide opportunities for wider audiences to engage with and learn about this important aspect of Britain’s cultural heritage.
By preserving skills, stories, and creative practices, Tapestry of Voices will help safeguard the heritage of communities who have shaped Britain’s cultural identity, ensuring it is recognised, valued, and accessible for future generations.
Phase 1: Community-led textile workshops
June – August 2026
Three series of textile workshops focused on developing practical and transferable skills in felted forms, fibre manipulation, weaving with recycled materials, tapestry techniques, soft sculpture and hand-stitching.
This phase positions textiles as both a skilled discipline and a contemporary storytelling practice.
Phase 2: Mentoring and Workplace Experience
July – August 2026
Participants progress into a month of online mentoring, developing curatorial literacy, portfolio readiness and sector awareness.
Following which participants take part in a one-month workplace experience, gaining hands-on experience in exhibition planning, artwork handling and studio support alongside Art Voyage’s curatorial team and lead artists.
Phase 3: Public Exhibition and Legacy
October 2026
The programme culminates in a two-week public exhibition, presenting new textile works created through the workshops and mentorship programme, and pieces by selected invited artists.
Public workshops, talks and tours expand access and engagement, while a digital archive and final stakeholder roundtable ensure learning is shared and sustained.
Stitching memory with Paloma Tendero
Stitching Memory is a hands-on workshop led by Paloma Tendero, exploring the relationship between memory, identity, and material. Participants will learn how to hand stitch into paper and photographs, gaining an introduction to a range of stitches and techniques that expand traditional textile practices into new and unexpected surfaces.
Drawing on Paloma’s artistic practice, which explores themes of genetic inheritance, illness, and the ways personal and family histories shape identity across generations, the workshop invites participants to reflect on their own memories and experiences. Through stitching, participants will explore how images and materials can carry emotional and historical meaning.
By the end of the session, each participant will have created a unique stitched artwork that blends memory, image, and material. The workshop builds confidence in alternative textile techniques while demonstrating how craft can serve as a powerful medium for storytelling, reflection, and contemporary artistic expression.
Award-winning multi-disciplinary artist and workshop facilitator, Zetha works across tapestry-making techniques including punch needle, embroidery, tufting, weaving and sewing. Her practive is grounded in hydrofeminist and ecofeminist approaches to land, body and archive.
Explores themes of genetic inheritance, illness, and their impact on identity and life’s timelines. Drawing on personal experience with genetic illness, Paloma investigates the complex interplay between past generations and the ways the influence and shape the present and the future.
Textile artist working in feltmaking that originates from her love of sheep. Using both traditional and innovative techniques she aims to show the diversity and qualities feltmaking can be taken to. Using British Wool, which lends itself to a variety of disciplines within the textile world.
ARTISTS
FARIBA BOROUFAR
Fariba Bourifa is an Iranian weaver and fibre artist whose sculptural practice draws on vernacular architecture and endangered building traditions. Trained in sculpture at the Tehran School of Fine Arts (1993), she later completed a BA in Graphic Design and an MA in Illustration at the University of Art, Tehran (2004). Her early career in print media and children’s publishing shaped a strong visual and narrative sensibility.
DIVYA SHARMA
Divya Sharma (born 1970) is a London-based British Indian artist with a Master’s from the Royal College of Art and a BA in Fine Art from UAL, who founded the Neulinge Collective and has curated five major shows. In 2023, she was awarded two juried New Contemporaries shows in the UK, became the Croydon BID artist of 2024 with her works displayed as banners in London, and was selected for the Collect Open and the Wells Contemporary Art Show in 2024.
Her work draws from the cultural world of her mother tongue, Tamil, transforming tapestry into a form of visual language through the act of tufting. Growing up in India in a home where fabric was both material and language textiles became her earliest mode of storytelling.
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MUSTAFA BOGA
Mustafa Boga is a Turkish artist working across textiles, video, photography, and performance. His practice explores memory, ritual, and the ways personal and collective histories shape identity.
Mustafa has exhibited widely across Europe, the Middle East, and the UK. His work has been shown at venues such as the Nan Ke Gallery (London), Contemporary Istanbul, the Turkish Textile Biennial, and Nottingham Contemporary. Solo exhibitions include For the Lives We Couldn’t Hold On To (2025, Nan Ke Gallery), Displaced Memories (2024, Antalya, Turkey), and Wild Flowers (2022, London). His works are held in significant collections, including the Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM) in Eskişehir and the Arter Collection in Istanbul.
KAMILAH AHMED
Kamilah Ahmed is a London‑based British Bangladeshi textile artist and embroidery designer whose work bridges heritage craft and contemporary design. Her practice reimagines traditional techniques like Jamdani weaving and Ari hook embroidery through material experimentation and digital processes, producing intricate textiles, bespoke embroidered panels, and site‑specific installations that connect cultural storytelling with interior and architectural spaces.
After completing her MA in Textiles at the Royal College of Art and a decade of couture embroidery for fashion houses including Dior, Valentino, and Dolce & Gabbana, Kamilah now leads her own studio at Cockpit Arts, Bloomsbury, where she develops commissions, collaborations, and cross‑disciplinary projects that balance narrative, technical mastery, and material innovation.
PARTNERS
Creative Health Camden
Creative Health Camden is a pioneering charity supporting arts and community initiatives within Kentish Town Health Centre in North London. They work at the intersection of community, health and the arts to engage individuals with creative and social activities that explore their individual wellbeing.
PAN INTERCULTURAL Arts
Pan Intercultural Arts works across ethnic, cultural and faith boundaries to encourage understanding, integration and empowerment throughout our diverse society. They are driven by a desire to improve the lives of young people within our communities and to bring the healing power of the arts to those who have suffered trauma or social injustice.
DANDI
Dandi is a modern co-living property developer, offering a unique architectural style. Their work already spans over four London sites, including their own London based manufacturing facilities. In collaboration with Schoeni Projects, they have recently opened an impressive exhibition space at their Battersea location.
Public Exhibition [July 2026]
The programme culminates in a three-week public exhibition celebrating community creativity and global perspectives. Works by participants will be displayed alongside those of the three lead workshop facilitators, Zethu Maseko, Sarah Waters, and Paloma Tendero, and guest artists Fariba Bourfar, Mustafa Boga, Divya Sharma, with more artists to be announced in the lead-up to July 2026.
This exhibition is a free, inclusive event, highlighting the power of textiles to carry voices, stories, and connections across generations and cultures.
Join us & Support Creatives
Your donation to Tapestry of Voices directly supports the creation of new sculpture and emerging artists while empowering underrepresented women, young people, and diaspora communities to share their stories.
By contributing, you help preserve cultural heritage, amplify unheard voices, and ensure these narratives are seen, valued, and carried forward for future generations.
Learn more about how to get involved here
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