BIOGRAPHY
Suzanna James graduated with a BA in Textiles from Winchester School of Art in 2015, before continuing study at the Royal College of Art, London where she graduated with a double-scholarship award MA in Textiles in 2022 (QEST, Coats Foundation, Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters). During her MA she positioned cloth as a spokesperson, and found herself in the words of bell hooks, in a role of ‘intimate listening’ to the voice of women through cloth, knitting a practice which is an ode and sonnet to cloth and its makers. She now works within a social visual arts practice with needle and thread.
CV
Awards and Scholarships:
2023: The Broderers’ Award , Cockpit Arts – Shortlist
2022: The Needlemakers’ Award , Cockpit Arts – Shortlist
2022: The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters MA Award
2021: The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust
2020: The Coats Foundation Bursary Trust Scholarship
2019: Wales Arts International – International Opportunities Fund Award
2019: The Arts Council of Wales – Professional Development Award
2018: The Abury Design Experience – Finalist
2015: The Textiles Society Undergraduate Award
2015: The Winchester School of Art and Peter Jensen Fashion Textiles Award
2015: The David Band Textiles Award at Graduate Fashion Week – Runner Up
2015: TEXPRINT Top 50 Graduates
Showcases and Exhibitions:
2023: ‘Echoes of Belonging’ – DAA Art, Curated by Vittoria Beltrame – Longacre, London
2023: Wales Week London with First of March – Maker Showcase, London
2022: ‘Towards A New Intellectual Cosmos: A Reflection on Contemporary Forms of Expressions’ – DAA Art
2022: Royal College of Art MA Show – RCA, Battersea (London)
2022: Royal College of Art Work in Progress Show – RCA, Kensington (London)
2021: Critical and Historical Studies Symposium – Selected Textiles Research Showcase – Royal College of Art (Online)
2020: London Craft Week – Online Showcase – ‘A Celebration of Craftsmanship from Wales with First of March’ – Speaker
2020: Maker in Focus – Craft in the Bay, Cardiff (Postponed)
2019: The London Artisan – Brick Lane, London
2019: Festival of Natural Fibres – Panelist (Online)
2019: Craft Festival – Curated by Jwrnal Wales – Cardiff
2018: First of March – Luxury Welsh Craftsmanship – Online, Ongoing Representation
2018: The Oasis – Curated by Artisan and Fox – Brick Lane, London
2018: Handmade in Britain – Selected by ‘Curated by Dan Goode’ – Chelsea, London
2018: Rooted in Practice – Curated by Laura Thomas – Craft in the Bay, Cardiff
2017: New Maker, Makers Guild in Wales – Craft in the Bay, Cardiff
(Ongoing)
2017: Handmade in Britain – Chelsea, London
2016: Handmade in Britain – Chelsea, London
2016: ‘One Year On’ New Designers – Islington, London
2016: ‘Spinexpo’ – Shanghai
2015: Winchester School of Art Graduate Show – London
2015: Graduate Fashion Week – London
2015: The Textile Society Undergraduate Bursary Shortlist Exhibition – Manchester
STATEMENT
Suzanna James’ practice combines textiles, photography and writing in an interdisciplinary praxis informed by the words of artist Louise Bourgeois’, ‘The needle is used to repair damage; it’s claim to forgiveness.’
Through threadpulling woven structures, embroidery, and photography of handmade textiles, her practice of caring cloth explores the social function of the needle.
