TEXTILE MARATHON & PERFORMANCE
THREADING ORGANISMS 3.0: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL
- A residency programme based on textile upcycling marathon and performance will take place between the 10th August and 5th September at the Holborn Library.
- The residency will culminate with 2 performances on 17th and 22nd October to celebrate the relationships that have shaped Bloomsbury Festival over 2 decades.
The textile marathon ‘Threading Organisms 3.0’ is a socially engaged art initiative that brings together textile upcycling, performance, science and literature to reflect on how living beings coexist through cooperation and interdependence. Participants will take part in a creative residency or upcycling Marathon (10th August - 5th September 2026) combining guided tours, literature review sessions and hands-on workshops led by guest mentors from the sciences and humanities. Through this process, residents will create costumes and artworks from recycled textiles, culminating in public performances and exhibition at Holborn Library (32 - 38 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8PA) during the Bloomsbury Festival (October 2026).
Artist and curator Tere Chad presents Threading Organisms 3.0, a participatory textile marathon and performative project developed to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bloomsbury Festival. The final outcomes will be presented as two performance and exhibition (tbc) during the Bloomsbury Festival at Holborn Library. The first performance will take place on the 17th October 3.30 - 4.30pm at Holborn Library’s auditorium. This performance is a collaboration with icandance, an organisation led by Juliet Diener, raising the voices of disabled children and young people through dance. The second performance, also at Holborn Library’s auditorium, will take place on the 22nd October 5 - 7pm and will include members of the residency. Threading Organisms 3.0 textile marathon, reflects on how relationships -whether ecological, social or institutional- can be expressed as cooperative and symbiotic, rather than parasitic or co-dependent.
Threading Organisms 3.0 textile marathon focuses on the relationships that have sustained Bloomsbury Festival over two decades, celebrating both collaborative partnerships and the ecological symbiosis that have made festival possible. By using upcycled textiles as a central medium, the project also foregrounds sustainable practices and collective making as tools for social repair and cultural exchange. By bringing together art, science and community engagement, the project proposes a poetic and critical reflection on coexistence in contemporary urban life. Hosted at Holborn Library, the project invites local communities to explore and celebrate the symbiotic and cooperative relationships that shape both natural ecosystems and cultural collaborations across Bloomsbury.
The residency programme will run from 10th August - 5th September 2026and offers a space for creatives, textile artists, performers, musicians and community members interested in sustainable practices and collaborative creation. Alongside structured workshops and site visits across Bloomsbury’s green spaces, the programme will host drop-in sessions open to families and the wider public, encouraging intergenerational participation and dialogue until October 2026. Potential partners include community groups, educational institutions and cultural organisations across Camden, such as gardening and repair workshops, volunteer groups, local studies initiatives and creative learning providers. The project aims to strengthen local networks while fostering sustainable cultural practices rooted in the values of collaboration and care.
Speaking about the project, Tere Chad notes: -‘Threading Organisms invites us to observe how life forms are interconnected and how these relationships shape our social fabric. By working collectively with recycled textiles and performance, we celebrate the partnerships that have sustained the Bloomsbury Festival for twenty years while imagining new forms of cooperation for the future.’-
The first edition of Threading Organisms (Hilando Organismos) was presented at Centro Cultural Plaza Fátima in San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León, Mexico (2024), followed by a second edition developed with the School of Architecture at Tecnológico de Monterrey University (2025). The initial editions were co-developed by Tere Chad and Cordelia Rizzo. The Bloomsbury iteration will be curated by Tere Chad and situated within Holborn Library, engaging residents, local organisations and festival partners in a shared creative process. Ultimately, Threading Organisms 3.0 positions artistic collaboration as a living ecosystem, one that evolves through dialogue, mutual support and shared creative action. The project aligns with the Bloomsbury Festival’s commitment to community participation, interdisciplinary exchange and cultural sustainability.
Project website: www.terechad.com/hilando-organismos
TEXTILE MARATHON THREADING ORGANISMS 3.0 PROGRAMME: Admission is free
Textile Recycling Campaign: 15 June – 10 August 2026
Holborn Library, 32 – 38 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8PA
Residency / Textile Upcycling Marathon: 10 August – 5 September 2026
Holborn Library, 32 – 38 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8PA
(Only for accepted applicants, review programme at the application link above)
Drop-in sessions: Textile upcycling workshops for families: Saturdays 15 August, 29 August, 5 September, 12 September, 26 September, 3 October 2026
11am – 1pm & 2 – 4:30pm
Holborn Library, 32 – 38 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8PA
Forum: Textile recycling: Tuesday 6 October 2026, 5 – 7pm; Speakers: Juliet Diener, Briony Marshall, Neus Torres Tamarit, Natasha Marshall; Mediator: Tere Chad; Mezzanine area, Holborn Library, 32 – 38 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8PA
Performance 1: icandance: Saturday 17 October 2026, 3:30 – 4:30pm, Auditorium top floor, Holborn Library, 32 – 38 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8PA
Performance 2: Residents: Thursday 22 October 2026, 5 – 7pm, Auditorium top floor, Holborn Library, 32 – 38 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8PA
Exhibition: Holborn Library (tbc)
The public events programme will include a Chilean wine sponsorship from Rouge & Co London.
RESIDENT ARTISTS: Alice Dawson, Camila Brendon, Jacob J Hurley, Jill Rock, Kate Mackey, Kenna Mackey, Manisha Puri, Minyu Zhu, Rachel Goodison, Tere Chad, Ying Dai, YuTzu (Violetta) Yeh and Yiyeon Kim.
ABOUT TERE CHAD MRSS:
Tere Chad is a London-based artist and curator whose practice focuses on collective sustainable processes and the cultural values of the Global South. She holds an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art and an MA in Art and Science from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Chad has exhibited internationally, curated over twenty exhibitions and delivered participatory projects across Europe and Latin America. She is a trustee of the Royal Society of Sculptors and exhibited her work in over 70 shows. She has managed public and private funding, including grants and sponsorship from institutions such as the Arts Council England, Memorial da América Latina, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, Rotary Club Est Palermo (Sicily), Municipio San Pedro Garza García (San Pedro Borough – Mexico), Caruna (Finland), Stora Enso (Finland), Camden Giving, Paladar Restaurant, Fundación Cultural de Providencia (Chile) amongst others.
CONTACT: terechad@hotmail.com www.terechad.com
