Image courtesy of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery.
Open Call
Whanganui X Dundee: Textile Legacies
Whanganui X Dundee: Textile Legacies is a residency programme that connects indigenous and ancestral textile practices between Whanganui, New Zealand and Dundee, Scotland to foster meaningful cultural and creative exchange. The project initiates a new connection between two UNESCO Cities of Design, supporting the development of contemporary textile design specialists through a reciprocal international residency.
The long-standing textile traditions of Whanganui and Dundee are powerful expressions of place-based cultural identity. At the same time, these histories also carry complex legacies — including the impacts of colonisation, war, and cultural suppression — which have shaped and, at times, disrupted cultural development. In the resurgence of traditional textile techniques in both cities, we see not only a reconnection to ancestral knowledge, but also a recognition of how design heritage continues to shape contemporary identities and creative practices.
Applications will be reviewed by a selection panel which will feature indigenous voices, sector specialists, and a representative from Whanganui. Panellists are as follows:
- Lizzie Day, Project Coordinator – UNESCO City of Design Dundee
- Kim Turford-Mowat, Learning Curator – Dundee Heritage Trust
- Kirsty Hassard, Curator – V&A Dundee
- Greg Donson, Senior Curator – Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui
PROJECT BRIEF
The full project brief can be found in the below PDF.
Applications close at 10:00am on Wednesday 19 November 2025.
HOW TO APPLY
This opportunity is open to practicing designers and design specialists working within textiles and/or connected fields. Applicants must live, work or have a studio located within a DD postcode (for example, DD1 1DB).
Application links are included within the PDF and have been copied below for ease of use:
Further information about Connections Through Culture’s 2025 grantees can be found here.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Lizzie Day, Project Coordinator, on elizabeth.day@leisureandculturedundee.com
Whanganui X Dundee: Textile Legacies is coordinated by UNESCO City of Design Dundee and UNESCO City of Design Whanganui and supported by the British Council New Zealand and the Pacific’s Connections Through Culture Programme.
