Jason and The Wakefield Adventure Micro Commission
2025
The way we tell our stories can make all the difference. Art can be a way of using narrative to preserve heritage.
Any mention of the textile industry sparks images of the Industrial Revolution and the Mills, but it was once so much more: a multi-industry collective of skills, trades, businesses, people and animals that created a community to form Wakefield’s prominent heritage. Even with the decline of the large-scale textile industry within Wakefield, the creative legacy of this industry continues to influence the town, as evidenced in ‘Our Year 2024’.
Moulded Connections
Moulded Connections (2025) is a collaborative-based artwork between Joanne Tiffany and CoActive Arts, putting community at the heart of the work to highlight co-operation and teamwork. The air-dried clay tiles artwork showcase the wide variety of trades, industries, skills and jobs, as well as giving pride of place to the animals that made the whole textile industry possible, namely the sheep.
Stitched Connections
Stitched Connections (2025) is an investigation of heritage, influenced by growing up in Wakefield within a family of crafters and skilled workers. This upbringing greatly affected me and instilled my “make do, mend and create” approach. The place, people and community taught me many skills I utilise to this day. One such example is my grandma teaching my dad to knit and crochet, who in turn taught me to knit. The textile industry was about connections between people, skills and trades. Wakefield today is a welcoming community. It facilitates connections that allow us to befriend, support, share skills and knowledge, reminding everybody that our industrial history continues to be relevant.
