CHURCHILL
UPDATE 2022
I am please to announce that my Churchill Fellowship research will unofficially begin in December with a flight from Darwin to Denpasar and through to Delhi, India where I will self fund 10 weeks of textile exploration and creation.
Beginning with a pilgrim to the incredible Kochi Muziris Biennale in down south Kerela, the Indian leg of the research is complete with collaborative hands on workshops practising resist block printing, dying, sewing with visits to Universities, craft societies, Khadi melas and textile meccas.
From Delhi I fly to Berlin dropping a quick 4 day stop over in Helsinki, innovate design capital of the world, why not! Arriving early March, this officially marks the beginning of Churchill Fellowship research.
I intend to spend the best part of 4 weeks crisscrossing Germany ( and perhaps futher a field) focusing on what the Green Textile Tours can illuminate for me, I am hoping for complete immersion into the European world of second hand recycled, reclaimed, repurposed and bespoke textile with unique creatives and windows into industrious worlds. I am imagining eccentric arcades and bohemian bazaars, street wear made from gypsy lace and long black leather jackets.
After Berlin, before Scotland a quick trip to Spain to meet a textile pioneer and queen of the sustainable textile realm, an interview and instant love I imagine!
Wild Scotland is next, and at the moment I can not divulge too many of the magical and layered details but I can tell you it is a retelling of ancestral stories and legends framed and rewoven with the threads of Churchill love.
2 big city busy weeks of London with more of everything described above, I'm pledging to visit the V&A everyday as well as an experimental print studio, more destinations and details to come... Vintage couture with a dream of Portobello Road and all the fashionistas I'm yet to meet, look out here I come, Vivienne!
this of course could all change at the drop of a fragile world event but I'd like to acknowledge my excitement of what is yet to come and to extend warm gratitude to the team running the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and for investment in this learning journey.
.2019.....a long long time ago.........I am very pleased to announce that I have have been awarded a Churchill Fellowship for 2020
This year 112 people are being awarded Fellowships worth over $3.1 million, funding travel for up to 8 weeks. The Churchill Fellowship recognises new ideas. It is a celebration of expertise, innovation, expanding knowledge and creating new and better ways of addressing issues that matter in Australia right now. Fellowships are awarded to everyday Australians who are passionate about challenging the status quo to create or make a positive impact on our society.
During my Churchill Fellowship, I will visit art textile hubs, focusing on sustainable manufacturing and global markets in Europe and the UK. Through exploring textile surface design hubs and creative village clusters I will investigate the growing textile revolution surrounding sustainable economy that promotes innovation for fair trade, slow makers, cyclic production and zero waste advocates. I am also interested in digital rendering and how it is used in textile production and markets. I will visit a diverse range of artists, designers, studios, galleries, museum collections, showrooms, markets, fairs and textile expo's, to gain practical insights and foster potential countertrade and collaborative relationships relative to my creative textile production.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established in 1965 to honour the memory of Sir Winston Churchill and fulfil his wish for people from all walks of life to travel the world to gain new knowledge and share ideas and insights.
To find out more visit www.churchilltrust.com.au