Ikon celebrates the medium of weaving by bringing an AVL Studio Dobby loom on-site to the gallery and activating it through a series of micro-residencies with West Midlands weavers and artists.

Combining the tradition of hand weaving and computer-aided design, and organised in partnership with the Textile Design department at Birmingham City University (BCU), the exhibition sees the weavers and artists experiment with materials and structures to create textiles that speak to the past in defining a sustainable future.

The interdisciplinary nature of textile design, which intersects with biology, material and environmental science, is explored through an exhibition that considers the expanded role of textiles in contemporary art. Importantly it champions a ‘learning by doing’ approach, where education and community groups can observe, engage with and participate in the construction of simple-to-complex textile compositions.