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Wandsworth Town

Weaving Out Waste exhibition at Southside

A new eco-conscious art exhibition is coming to Southside Shopping Centre.

A flowing textile river, woven with recycled materials by hundreds of children from 32 Wandsworth primary schools will be exhibited on the first floor from Thursday 18 April until Wednesday 8 May.

Led by Royal College of Art Fashion Design graduate and artist Caroline Lauvetz, the project is inspired by Wandsworth’s rich history of textile manufacturing along the Wandle River.

More than 30 Wandsworth primary school teachers came together and joined Caroline for a series of training sessions to learn weaving techniques to enable them to support their pupils from years 4 and 5 with creating their own textile artworks.

Using locally sourced reclaimed fabrics the pupils upcycled the materials to create their own individual and unique artwork, which was then woven together to create the textile. The river will flow through the exhibition space, illustrating the Wandle’s historic role in textile manufacturing in the borough, and to highlight the current pollution of rivers.

The project is also helping pupils to learn about the life cycle of a garment and the environmental impact of the fashion industry on our planet.

You are invited to explore the exhibition and get creative with a series of free drop-in workshops with local artists.

Weaving Out Waste is part of Wandsworth Council’s work to engage with young people around climate change and make our borough more sustainable. The exhibition is facilitated by Wandsworth Council and the Royal College of Art, and supported by TRAID.