Yemi Awosile – Artist in Residence at Thornwood Care Home.

The De La Warr Pavilion is delighted to announce multi-disciplinary designer Yemi Awosile as artist in residence at Thornwood Care Home in Bexhill-on-Sea, home to 16 people living with dementia. The residency is organised by the De La Warr Pavilion in association with Open School East, and funded by a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Test and Explore grant.

Throughout Autumn 2017, Awosile will engage Thornwood Care Home residents and staff in conversation and creative activities. Out of this, she will develop a collection of digitally embroidered fabrics inspired by these encounters, and the site. Awosile will test how craft innovation might help to bridge the gap between a younger generation of digital natives, and those brought up before the digital age: challenging age and ability related stereotypes, as well as attitudes to craft.

During a recent conversation with one of the care home’s residents, the artist talked about her time growing up in London, a story that provoked shared memories about dancing and music. Whilst in residence, Awosile will work with residents and staff to compile a playlist that incorporates their favourite songs, creating a collective soundscape to accompany a presentation of digitally embroidered fabrics at the De La Warr Pavilion in early 2018.

During her residency, as part of the Crafts Council’s annual festival of new making MAKE: SHIFT: DO, Awosile will give a brief talk about her work and facilitate a textiles block printing session that merges traditional techniques with contemporary design practice. The session will exploit the use of digitally fabricated printing blocks made from CNC milled timber for an experimental approach to textile craft. https://www.dlwp.com/event/makeshiftdo/

Yemi Awosile (b. 1984) lives in London. She was raised in North West London near Ladbroke Grove where she was largely influenced by the local area and second-hand markets on Goldborne Road and Portobello Road. She trained as a textile designer at the Royal College of Art and Chelsea College of Art, and is currently teaching as a visiting tutor at Loughborough University and Chelsea College of Art. Recent projects include collaborations with PEER, Stanley Picker Gallery, Tate, Contemporary And (C&), ICA, Bernie Grant Arts Centre and the British Council Pakistan. As part of her working practice, she re-purposes everyday materials to explore the relationship between people and materials. Her most recent work looks at unexpected parallels between different social groups in urban spaces.