Filmed on the opening weekend of Mischief, artist Liz Collins gives more insight into the development of the project in conversation with guest curator Julia Bryan-Wilson. The two discussed Liz’s practice and delved into the processes and themes in the exhibition.

This autumn, all four of our gallery spaces will be taken over by Mischief, an exhibition featuring new textile art and selected pieces from the archives of New York-based queer feminist artist and designer Liz Collins and curated by Julia Bryan-Wilson.

Showcasing the breadth of Collins’ work and continuing threads throughout her career to date, the exhibition will also showcase the ties to industrial making methods, from traditional and low-tech to modern hi-tech approaches, with implicit links to Rochdale’s own historic textile industry.

Alongside Collins’ work, Mischief will give space to the lives and experiences of queer people in Rochdale and other former mill towns in the North of England.

Queer People, Places and Things will exhibit work from significant LGBTQ+ collections, including works from the Juan Yarur Torres Collection – Fundacion AMA in Chile, as well as items curated from the Rochdale Borough collections by a group of Rochdale locals and presented through a queer lens. Through working with local, regional and national LGBTQ+ groups, Mischief will tie together Collins’ large scale textile artworks with the often unheard and uncelebrated stories of queer history to be found in our own community.

To accompany the exhibition, there is a public programme of talks, performances and tours – click here to find out more.

Funded by Arts Council England, Granada Foundation and made possible with support from Fundacion AMA in Chile.