9 November 2009

Quilt wraps up V&A Success for student Kirsty

A fourth-year student from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee will have her work exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum next year alongside some of the world’s leading artists and designers - including Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry.

Kirsty Fenton (21), from Perth, is a textile design student at DJCAD. She won the rare opportunity to exhibit at the prestigious V&A by designing a quilt for the 'Hidden Histories, Untold Stories' project, a joint venture between the 'Past, Present and Future Craft Practice' research project based at DJCAD and the V&A.

Her winning entry will now form part of the V&A’s first major exhibition of quilts next spring. The first exhibition of its kind in the UK, Quilts 1700-2010 will show an extraordinary variety of quilts from the highly decorative and opulent such as the Bishop’s Court Quilt, once believed to have been created by a Duke for a visit from King Charles II in 1670, to modest homemade bed covers, all testifying to the creativity and imagination of the makers.

The exhibition will show more than 65 quilts from a cot cover made in the 1690s to recent examples by leading contemporary artists including Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry as well as special commissions by Sue Stockwell, Caren Garfen and Jo Budd.

Where appropriate the quilts will be displayed on bed mounts, including a unique set of 1730 patchwork bed hangings, enabling visitors to experience how they were originally designed to be seen.

Kirsty’s design - `Threaded Wrists’ - was made after students were challenged to design a quilt which displayed a narrative quality while also meeting high standards of design and technique. Kirsty’s quilt confronts the problem of child labour, which of course is a major issue in the textile industry in many areas around the world.

Sue Pritchard, lead judge and curator of the V&A 2010 exhibition where Kirsty’s quilt will be on show, said, 'Kirsty's work combines an uncomfortable truth regarding child labour but does so in a way which is thoughtful, evocative and also beautifully constructed and made.'

Kirsty said she was thrilled to get the opportunity to put her work on show at the V&A.

'It is quite intimidating to think that my stuff will be there alongside all these other huge names, but it is also fantastic,' said Kirsty.

'I was interested in doing some research in child labour, how it affects people and how we see the results of it in the clothes and textiles we buy. This project seemed ideal for that, and I am just delighted that the judges in the competition were impressed by my work.'

Design lecturer Josie Steed said judges had been impressed by the students’ efforts.

'This was a challenging project but the students responded to it with enthusiasm and intelligence, particularly in the case of Kirsty who was a worthy winner,' said Josie. 'This is a fantastic opportunity for her to get her name in among some of the best known figures in arts and design.'

'Quilts - 1700 to 2010' will be at the V&A from March 20th to July 4th next year.

The 'Past, Present and Future Craft Practice' research project is a major initiative based at DJCAD and led by Professor Georgina Follett and Dr Louise Valentine. It is funded by the largest grant ever awarded to the crafts in the UK by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902