Creating Textiles: Heritage, Innovation and Sustainable Futures
As a city built on textile innovation and creativity, Nottingham presents an ideal location to explore the history and creative potential of textiles.
Creating Textiles: Heritage, Innovation and Sustainable Futures
Course information
This course will explore the origins of industry and its global impact and enquire what we can learn from the past to help transform the future of textile production and consumption for a sustainable planet.
In this course you will explore the future of ethical and sustainable textile making by drawing on Nottingham’s heritage as a centre of the textile industry. You will visit historical sites of textile making and participate in creative workshops and fieldtrips, including visits to the Nottingham Trent Lace Archive, the Framework Knitters’ Museum, and Waverly Dye Garden.
You will also experiment with textile techniques such as upcycling, visible mending and sustainable production and create a short portfolio of work including examples of stitch, weaving and printing techniques which you will present to the class.
What you'll study
This course will include the following themes:
- An Introduction to sustainable design: History of textiles in Nottingham
- Material Culture
- Makers’ narratives: Creativity and Exploitation
- Creative development: Skills and Technology
- Sustainable thinking in textiles production
- Changemaking through creative workshops
- Environmental impact and accountability
- Material Witness: Analysing fabrics
- Ingenuity and Imagination: Portfolio building
- Textiles futures.
You will be taught by a combination of classroom-based discussions, creative workshops, technical demonstrations, and field visits to sites of heritage and industry.
This course is ideal for students with some prior knowledge of textile production methods, but this isn’t essential.
Your tutors
Rebekah Pickering Wood
Senior Lecturer | School of Arts & Humanities
Dr Pickering Wood joined the School of Arts and Humanities at NTU in 2019 and contributes to scholarly activity, module leadership and teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level on BA (Hons) History and MA Museum and Heritage Development. She is also a PhD Supervisor facilitating studies that bridge historical and creative disciplines.
Andrew Gritt
Head of Department | School of Arts & Humanities
Dr Andy Gritt joined Nottingham Trent University in 2014 initially as Academic Courses Manager for History and Heritage gaining promotion to Head of History, Heritage and Global Cultures a year later. He continues to teach undergraduate students, supervise postgraduate students and is research active in a number of areas. Dr Gritt is a steering committee member of the East Midlands Centre for Teaching and Learning in History.
How to Apply
Complete our online application form to apply for Global Summer School. The application deadline is 1 June 2024.
Once you apply we’ll be in touch with more information on how to pay, your course, accommodation and travelling to Nottingham.