Felt

The new site-responsive installation commissioned by Saltaire Inspired as part of Saltaire Arts Trail was shown in the dramatic roof space at Salts Mill from 29 May – 6 June and again 10 - 19 September, for the Saltaire Festival. In Felt by Claire Tindale, wool is used as the central material to explore the industrial heritage of the mill and surrounding village. At the heart of the installation, occupying the industrial scale of the temporary gallery space, is a village of hundreds of small hand-crafted houses. The houses have been carefully sculpted using special needle-felting techniques to a design developed by Tindale and shared with members of the public through a series of workshops. Contributing to the collective growth and development of the model village, the houses created by groups of workshop participants, from the local area, Manchester and further afield, sit alongside those created by the artist. Responding to the historic and contemporary contexts of the mill and village, Felt explores the relationship between industry and home, the communities that develop and the supportive, symbiotic relationship that results. Felt was commissioned by Saltaire Inspired for the 2021 Saltaire Arts Trail. Kindly supported by Arts Council England, Salts Mill, Curtis Wool and Campaign for Wool. For more information about the project and venue visit:- www.saltaireinspired.org.uk/sat21exhibitions/ www.saltsmill.org.uk/