Show Notes
In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Helen Adams. Helen is the Textile Curator who has been shining a light on contemporary textile art on her terrific blog since 2014. Her fantastic book, Textile Fine Art was published in September 2025. In this first part of our chat we talk about making a textile art book that lasts longer than algorithms, how you choose artists when everyone is good, and what kinds of work genuinely “buzz your buttons”. We also get into exhibitions and the pressure of doing textile art justice in major spaces, including Saatchi, plus the practical logistics of hanging work properly. Helen is curating a show at Saatchi Gallery! Textile Art Redefined runs from April 10th - May 10th which is a must-see if you're in the vicinity. Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:03:40 - Helen’s career shift from fashion to textile curation 00:05:45 - The inspiration behind her publication and showcasing textile artists 00:08:06 - Curating at Saatchi Art: the process and challenges 00:13:41 - The importance of art galleries and Helen's vision for a textile hub 00:17:45 - The recognition of textile art in the mainstream art scene 00:21:50 - Challenges of managing art spaces and exhibition logistics 00:25:46 - The significance of personal relationships with artists 00:30:05 - The creative process and inspiration behind textile projects Links: Instagram: textilecurator Website: textilecurator.com You can get a 20% discount on Helen's book with free shipping from the Lawrence King website until April 9th using the code MRXSTITCH at checkout. Intro music is U Dirty Dawg by Def Lev via Epidemic Sound. About NeedleXChange An artist interview podcast exploring contemporary embroidery and textile art. Hosted by Jamie "Mr X Stitch" Chalmers. Stay Connected needl.exchange | Newsletter: bit.ly/NeedleXChangeNews mrxstitch.com | xstitchmag.com Social: Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube | LinkedIn
More from NeedleXChange
In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Haf Weighton, a Wales-based contemporary embroidery and textile artist known for turning place, memory and identity into stitch. This is part two, where we turn to Wales, starting with Arts Council support and moving into language, cultural identity and what it means to be an artist who happens to be Welsh. Haf reflects on bilingualism, creativity and belonging, then we get into the practical side of her work: painting on recycled fabric, hand and machine stitch, and a fine-art-led approach to making, before finishing with books, music, films and an unexpected David Bowie story. Links Instagram: Hafweightonartist Website: hafweighton.art Intro music is New Car Smell by Baegel via Epidemic Sound. About NeedleXChange An artist interview podcast exploring contemporary embroidery and textile art. Hosted by Jamie "Mr X Stitch" Chalmers. Stay Connected needl.exchange | Newsletter: bit.ly/NeedleXChangeNewsmrxstitch.com | xstitchmag.com
In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Haf Weighton, a Wales-based contemporary embroidery and textile artist whose work is rooted in places, journeys and the details we usually walk past. We talk about the story behind her High Street exhibition, from Arts Council support to a last-minute route to New Zealand and Australia, and the way travel, memory and architecture feed into her work. Along the way we get into sketchbooks, unfinished work, borders, looking at familiar places through other people's eyes, and the part artists can play in bringing new energy to overlooked town centres. Links Instagram: Hafweightonartist Website: hafweighton.art Intro music is New Car Smell by Baegel via Epidemic Sound. About NeedleXChange An artist interview podcast exploring contemporary embroidery and textile art. Hosted by Jamie "Mr X Stitch" Chalmers. Stay Connected needl.exchange | Newsletter: bit.ly/NeedleXChangeNewsmrxstitch.com | xstitchmag.com
In this episode of NeedleXChange, I interview Prisma Andrade, a Chicago-based fiber and textile artist and recent School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate whose work turns her family's archive into material and asks what makes something sacred. Prisma builds her pieces from spinning, jacquard weaving, dye painting and quilting, treating process as a way to make everyday objects sacred. In Part 2 we trace her path from an arts-magnet high school in Dallas to SAIC, her move from painting into fiber, digital jacquard weaving with laser-cut dyed frames, dye painting and quilting that reads like stained glass, her earlier bodily work, and a quickfire on Sing Street and Magdalena Bay. Links: Instagram: prismacolorhell Intro music is New Car Smell by Baegel via Epidemic Sound. About NeedleXChange An artist interview podcast exploring contemporary embroidery and textile art. Hosted by Jamie "Mr X Stitch" Chalmers. Stay Connected needl.exchange | Newsletter: bit.ly/NeedleXChangeNewsmrxstitch.com | xstitchmag.com
In this episode of NeedleXChange, I interview Prisma Andrade, a Chicago-based fiber and textile artist and recent School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate whose work turns her family's archive into material and asks what makes something sacred. Prisma recreates artworks and photographs from her family, past and present, using weaving, quilting and dye to disrupt the border between painting and textile. In Part 1 we get into sanctity and what becomes sacred, how framing tells us to pay attention, her family's migration between Honduras, Spain and the United States, nostalgia and inherited memory, the gender hierarchy inside the family archive, and why textiles are the things that survive the chopping block. Links: Instagram: prismacolorhell Intro music is New Car Smell by Baegel via Epidemic Sound. About NeedleXChange An artist interview podcast exploring contemporary embroidery and textile art. Hosted by Jamie "Mr X Stitch" Chalmers. Stay Connected needl.exchange | Newsletter: bit.ly/NeedleXChangeNewsmrxstitch.com | xstitchmag.com
This is Part 2 of my conversation with mixed-media artist Margot Peer. We open with her breakout piece, "Cross Stitch of Me Crying in My Bathroom When I Was 16," scaled up to a three-foot-by-four-foot, full-body stitching experience in yarn, and the accidental "glitch" of cascading threads that became part of her style. Margot talks candidly about what it means to sit and stitch your own crying face, the difference between documenting a real cry and performing one, and the low-resolution "loophole" that let a nude piece slip past Instagram. We also cover animating cross stitch (a six-month stitched video), glow-in-the-dark experiments, needlework's fraught status as fine art at RISD, and a quickfire run through Bladee, Jamie XX, Empire of AI and Where the Wild Things Are. Links: Website: margotpeer.com Instagram: margot.peer Intro music is New Car Smell by Baegel via Epidemic Sound. About NeedleXChange An artist interview podcast exploring contemporary embroidery and textile art. Hosted by Jamie "Mr X Stitch" Chalmers. Stay Connected needl.exchange | Newsletter: bit.ly/NeedleXChangeNews mrxstitch.com | xstitchmag.com