Linen Biennale NI 2023

My Role: Programme Manager

Duration: May 2023 - January 2024
Client: R-Space Gallery, Lisburn
Funder: National Lottery Heritage Fund

The Linen Biennale 2023 was a three-month festival of heritage, arts, craft and design. It included exhibitions and installations, discussions, masterclasses, and performances which took place across Northern Ireland.

Linen and flax production are inextricably linked to the social, agricultural, and industrial heritage of Northern Ireland. The themes of 2023 consciously overlaped and interwove. The intention was to Revive: return to life and consciousness; the Linen Biennale itself after a five-year hiatus; and also linen’s place in Northern Ireland’s story. Through this process, and by building networks and collaborative partnerships, we aimed to Renew our collective understanding of and appreciation for linen’s legacy – its current value and its enormous potential as a sustainable material of the future.