Dr Claire Barber’s textile art making local and global impact

The creative practice and research of the University of Huddersfield’s Dr Claire Barber in the field of textile arts is having an impact both locally and internationally.

The work of the senior lecturer in Textiles and Fashion as showcased during 2024 in prestigious shows at the famous Salt’s Mill in West Yorkshire and the VIII International Textile Art Triennale held  in Szombathely in Hungary. Dr Barber has also been selected to exhibit Liquid Notation with sound work by the University's Professor Monty Adkins at the Large Format Textile Art Salan, XI International Biennial of Textile Art at Miami International Fine Arts 6 to 29 March 2025.

Claire is also a member of the 62 Group, a collective of renowned British and international textile artists that champions the role of textiles in art. She was integral to the 62 Group’s Making as Learning exhibition that took place in Salt’s Mill as well as the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate last year. 

“Part of the constitution of the 62 Group is that you regularly contribute to or stage exhibitions, and these in 2024 followed on from one called Tailored that I was involved in during 2023 that took place at Sunnybank Mills in Pudsey,” says Dr Barber.

“It was an honour to be asked to curate the show that celebrated 62 years of the 62 Group along with Ealish Wilson, who I have known for over 20 years, in such a great venue as the attic space at Salt’s Mill.

“The light in there really added to the exhibition, and the whole thing stimulated some great conversations with people visiting the exhibition.

“People took something away from the show that informed their own ideas, work or studies which was a really exciting aspect to the show. It was a demanding exhibition to stage, given the size of the attic space and all the stairs to climb, so to get such a great reaction to the artworks was incredibly gratifying.”

Prestigious exhibition in Hungary

2024 also saw Claire exhibit Almost Quiet, which was displayed at the Szombathely Gallery as part of the highly prestigious exhibition of international textile art that takes place every three years.

“Almost Quiet has almost taken me back to being a student, as I was considering the role sound plays while I make my stitch,” Dr Barber adds. 

“I've been trying to think about a language of stitches and the character of stitch, and how that might reflect a mood or a thought which might inspired by what I am hearing at that point. It could be air conditioning, a breeze, the sound of cicadas, bees, glass recycling or the sound of my neighbour’s dog being let out each morning.

“For Almost Quiet, I used a material called Prefelt that is very delicate and fine you have to be really careful when stitching with it. What I really loved about it is your stitch is hovering in the fibre, so it's not fixed and to me that seemed closer to the qualities of sound, which is not fixed to a point.

“I'm a real advocate for textile art, I'm really trying to push the boundaries of what textile art can be. It has been dismissed at times as ‘women’s work’, but there were some pivotal exhibitions at the Barbican and the Tate recently so it looks like textile art has a level of acceptance here that has existed in Europe and elsewhere for a while. That’s what I aiming for in my research and work here at the University.”