Tapestry: Changing Concepts is a group exhibition featuring work by 19 contemporary artists associated with the former Tapestry Department at Edinburgh College of Art, either as graduates or lecturers. From the early 1960s to the 2000s the department was a hotbed of artistic invention. There was a strong emphasis on drawing, and all students learned to weave, yet at the same time were encouraged to explore different media to express their ideas. Tapestry was taught on an equal footing to the other fine art disciplines at the college and this ethos continued for almost 50 years, as the course gradually changed direction and eventually became Intermedia. Many of the alumni who originally trained in tapestry went on to develop a professional practice in an area which bore little or no relation to warp and weft.
This show reflects the unconventional approach of the Tapestry Department. On display are drawings, installations and sculptures alongside works made of textile - all presented under the banner of tapestry. People often think of tapestry as a traditional artform, in terms of technique, subject matter, or both. Tapestry: Changing Concepts aims to challenge this preconception and broaden the understanding of what a tapestry is or can be. Where it was once seen as a craft, it is now considered an artform in its own right, underpinned by ideas as much as technique. These works break with convention, looking to the future rather than the past.
Artists include: Jo Barker, Archie Brennan (1931-2019), Gordon Brennan, Sara Brennan, Henny Burnett, Amanda Gizzi, Linda Green, Stephen Hunter, Fiona Hutchison, William Jefferies, Tessa Lynch, Fiona Mathison, Jo McDonald, Susan Mowatt, Ann Naustdal, Matteo Rosa, Cristina Sobrino, Joanne Soroka and Lesley Stothers.
Exhibition in partnership with STAR* (Scottish Tapestry Artists Regrouped).
Ann Naustdal, 'The Forest Floor I', 2021. © the artist
Tapestry: Changing Concepts