Interviews

The secret life of fabric with Hannah Gartside

What happens to the dresses we once danced in, the gloves that warmed us during cold winters, and the fabrics that held our stories? In sculptor and installation artist Hannah Gartside’s hands, these fabrics don’t fade – they’re reborn. A former costume designer turned textile sculptor, Hannah reshapes worn and discarded fabrics into sculptures that dance with movement and emotion. For anyone drawn to the poetry of textiles, the energy of movement, and the way materials can hold both past and possibility, this episode’s for you.

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Listen or watch on your favourite platform:

Hannah Gartside - Friday Feature Artist interview

Host: Angela Truscott

Show Notes

You have to go beyond what's possible now and think about what's possible beyond your walls and self-limits. Yeah it takes years for a piece to be made, but the idea might have come a long time ago, and then you have to wait for all the other conditions to be in place. I keep a record of all my ideas.
- Hannah Gartside

Takeaways from this episode

Fabric is an archive of memory and time. Hannah’s work transforms secondhand clothing into sculptures that preserve not just fabric, but the lives they once intertwined with. What traces of history exist in the materials around you?
Movement isn’t just aesthetic – it’s narrative. In Hannah’s sculptures, the act of movement becomes part of the story, inviting us to see textiles not as static objects, but as something alive. How might motion, or the suggestion of it, change how you think about your own creative practice?
Art is an act of devotion. Hannah’s relationship with her artwork is a deeply personal practice of care, patience, and commitment. She approaches each piece with reverence, allowing the process to unfold intuitively. What could shift for you if you treated your creative work as something sacred rather than transactional?

Explore the artwork from this episode below

During the live interview, we shared some images of Hannah’s artwork. Since you’re listening to the podcast version, we’ve made these images available for you below.