About 

Shelly Goldsmith works across a range of textile practices to investigate the power of cloth as a rich landscape for expression, a place to explore and communicate ideas, unfold narratives. Through rigorously crafted tapestry weaving, hand stitch and experimental textile printing she unpicks established psychological theory to better understand human interactions, how we live our lives and what shapes us.  Taking an autoethnographic approach her position is both personal and parsing, textiles become witness and memoranda, whilst also offering opportunities for introspection and learning.  

Utilising technological and historical techniques simultaneously, her work is conceived and produced with sustainability at its heart, using recycled and repurposed materials.  Creative practice is underpinned by collaborations with Psychiatry and Forensic Science professionals and supported by awards from Arts Council England and Wellcome Trust, for example. 

Goldsmith has exhibited at major galleries and museums in Britain, Europe, USA and Japan, her work is in many notable public collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum and The Whitworth.

Goldsmith’s work is written about and cited extensively in books and journals.  She is the recipient of several awards including the prestigious Jerwood Prize for Textiles and the Vlieseline Fine Art Textile Award, an international prize which recognises concept-driven and gallery context textiles. 

Shelly Goldsmith is Emerita Reader in Textiles at the University for the Creative Arts. 

 

  • Kate Derum Award, Australian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne, Australia   July - October 2024     

    House Guests, David Parr House, Cambridge. September - October 2023

    Fiberart International Museum of Art, Fort Collins, Colorado. USA. August – October 2023

    TEXTUS: In-Between Text and Textile, Torriano Meeting House, London. July - October 2023

    Connective Material, Museum Dr Guislain, Ghent Belgium. November 2022 - March 2023

    Fiberart International, Brew House & Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh 2022.

    Dresses for Giants, Solo, ACS Margate 2022

    Still Parents, The Whitworth, Manchester  2022 

    Thread, Elysium Gallery, Swansea   2021 

    Maker’s Eye, Crafts Council, London   2020 

    Loss & Lucidity, SantoraSpace205, Santa Ana, USA  + Appleton Gallery, + Fabrica Braco de Prata  Portugal 2019 

    Dresses for Giants, solo,  Addington St. Gallery, Ramsgate. Part of Margate’s Turner Prize program. 2019    

    Łódź Blouse Trilogy,  solo, University for the Creative Arts, Canterbury. 2017

    Art_Textiles, The Whitworth, Manchester   2016  

    Crafting Anatomies, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham Trent University. 2015  

    The Dreaming House: Art Textiles at Newstead, Newstead Abbey, Nottingham  2015

    Metamorphosis,  TO3 Textile Incubation Centre, Ronse. 2014

    Lace Effects 1 ,  Cité internationale de la dentelle et de la mode de Calais. 2013  

    Bitesize, Diawa Anglo Foundation, London + GalleryGallery, Kyoto  + Nagoya University of the Arts/Science, Nagoya 2012   

    Revealing Evidence, solo, Pitzhanger Manor Gallery, London   2010  

    Turner Open, Turner Contemporary, Margate 2010  

    Indelible: Every Contact Leaves a Trace, Fabrica, Brighton   2008  

    Cloth and Culture Now, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich + The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester  2008                 

    becoming, solo, Victoria & Albert Museum, London 2006  

    Depth of Field: conversations between photography and textiles, MAC, Birmingham 2006  

    koko-ima/here-now, Gallery Kaze,  Tokyo    2005  

    Millennium J,  Gallery Aoyama, Tokyo     2004       

    Kanazawa World Craft Forum, Daiwa Korinbo + Utatsuyama Workshop + Kanazawa New Grand Hotel, Kanazawa 2003 

    Jerwood Prize, Crafts Council, London + Salford Museum and Art Gallery + City Art Centre Edinburgh + Ulster Museum 2002                 

    Succulent Fruits, Spica Museum Tokyo. 2001  

    Ripened, solo, Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham. 2001  

    Dew Point, solo, Centre de Documentacio i Museu Textil, Terrassa, Spain  +  PWC Gallery, London  +  Gallery Aoyama, Tokyo 2000  

    ripe, Crafts Council, London. 2000

    Fold: The Newspaper of the unconscious, The Freud Museum, London   2000  

    Heart,  (2 person show with Chikako Mori) Gallery Aoyama, Tokyo 2000

    flow,  solo, Barbican Arts Centre, London 1999  

    L Space, solo, Canberra School of Art, ACT, Australia 1998

  • Forthcoming 2025: Colorscaping Rotter’s liminal dress:playing with the transmutable states of disperse dye in dyesublimation applications on reclaimed polyester, Authored publication, Bloomsbury Encyclopaedia of World Textiles. Bloomsbury 2025

    A Dialogue about Social Weaving: The Weaving Kiosk and Weaving Lab, Jessica Hemmings. Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture. Berg 2021 

    Textile Travels, Anne Kelly. Batsford Books 2020 

    Wintering: How I learned to flourish when life became frozen, Katherine May. Penguin Random House 2020 

    First Person: Lodz Blouse Trilogy, Shelly Goldsmith.  Embroidery Magazine 2020  

    Locus of the Dress: a publication to be worn,  Shelly Goldsmith, Herminia Hernaiz-Sanders.  Pub University for the creative arts 2018 

    Looking beyond the Warp and Weft: unpicking latent narratives in worn clothing,  Shelly Goldsmith. Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture. Berg 2017      

    Artists in Art_Textiles Maria Balshaw, Jennifer Harris, Pennina Barnett.  Pub University of Manchester 2016 

    Drawn to Ohio, Jo Hall.  Embroidery Magazine 2015 

    Crafting Anatomies, Performative Anatomies, NTU Creative Textiles Research Group. Pub Nottingham Trent University 2015 

    The Re(a)d Thread in Outside: Activating Cloth to Enhance the Way We Live, Prof. Lesley Millar. Edited by Penny Macbeth, Claire Barber. Cambridge Scholars 2015  

    Digital X Historicalin Digital Encounters, Jenna Rossi-Camus, Prof. Margaret Buck MBE Pub UCA 2014 

    Ruminationswith Shelly Goldsmithin Mining Couture, A Manifesto for Common Wear Barber Swindles. Black Dog  2012 

    The Textile ReaderConsidering the Evidence - Part II MEMORY, Jane Wildgoose Edited by  Jessica Hemmings. Berg 2012 

    Pairings, Conversations & collaborations, Alice Kettle.  Pub Stroud Int. Textiles  2012 

    Textile, Art and Culture Textiles Today: a global survey of  trends and traditions, Chloe Colchester. Thames and Hudson 2007 

    Tilleke Schwarz: Mark Making book review Shelly Goldsmith, Crafts Magazine 2007 

    Depth of Field: Conversations Between Photography and TextilesReview, Rhiannon Williams.  Selvedge Magazine 2007  

    Pear-shaped stories, Liz Hoggard. Crafts Magazine 2006 

  • Jugaar & The City, Design Summit Lahore Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan (Zoom Conference) 2024

    Fiberart International Pittsburgh USA 2022

    Thread Swansea UK 2021

    CONTEXTILE 2020, Textile Talks Guimarães Portugal 2020

    Craft in 2020: looking back and looking forward COLLECT London UK 2020

    Fabric of Faith: Exploring textiles as practice-based research University College London UK 2018

    The Matter of Material Turner Contemporary UK 2017

    My Cloth Yinka Shonibare’s British Library installation Turner Contemporary Margate UK 2016

    Material Language Richard Tuttle’s ‘I don’t know or the weave of textile language’ Tate Modern + The Whitechapel Gallery London UK 2014

    Threads of Feeling Foundling Museum London UK 2013

    Fabriconversations Nottingham Trent University UK 2010

    Textile Vocabularies - Innovation in Practice Herriot Watt University UK 2009

    Enfolded Meanings National Gallery London UK 2008

    Jerwood Prize Award Crafts Council London UK 2003

  • Jerwood Applied Arts Prize: Textiles 

    Vlieseline Fine Art Textile Prize 

    London International Creative Competition Prize 

    Royal Overseas League Drawing Prize 

    Shortlisted - the World Craft Forum Prize 

    Arts Council England Project Award 

    Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers Award 

    Wellcome Trust Sci-Art Award 

    UK Trade & Investment Grant 

    Winchester School of Art Research Award 

    Southampton University Research Award 

    University for the Creative Arts Research Grant 

  • V&A Museum

    Worshipful Company of Haberdashers

    Contemporary Art Society Collection

    Nottingham Castle Museum

    Crafts Council

    The Whitworth