London & Midlands Textile Artist
Hey, my name is Alice
As an award-winning textile artist, I bring environmental awareness, creativity, and a sense of play together to create immersive experiences that inspire curiosity and connection. My work ranges from experimental wearable art to tactile textile installations and sculptural forms—all rooted in the sensory human experience. Using recycled materials and natural dyes, I tap into our primal need for touch, comfort, and connection to nature.
Inspired by the therapeutic qualities of the natural world, themes of geology and organic rock formations echo throughout my work, inviting participants to explore the calming influence of these shapes and textures. Each piece is designed for a “tactile gaze”—an invitation to engage the senses and activate the artwork through touch. This interaction immerses participants in the artwork, sparking moments of connection and enhancing well-being with every touch.
UK-based socially engaged textile artist
working with museums, galleries, and communities.
With a strong focus on collaborative community and public engagement, I invite diverse individuals to co-create immersive artworks using textiles. Through this participatory process using art and play, I seek to foster empowerment and storytelling to address themes of social integration, mental wellbeing, and a deeper connectivity to nature. I believe in championing positive change, the power of shared knowledge, and access to the arts for all.
Workshop Facilitator
My background as a workshop facilitator is rich and varied, working with diverse audiences and spanning collaborations with museums, organisations, charities, corporate clients, fashion brands, schools, and youth services.
Scroll down for Biography & Artist CV
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Biography
Alice Burnhope is a textile artist specialising in social engagement and community participation. Born and raised in the West Midlands, she holds a first-class degree in Textiles: Innovation and Design from Loughborough University and is a Sarabande Scholar. Alice's immersive textile installations have been showcased in solo and group exhibitions across the UK and internationally, including at prestigious venues such as Arthouse Jersey, the Hayward Gallery, and Alexandra Palace.
In addition to her installation work, Alice is a dedicated artist educator, facilitating creative textile workshops for local schools and national institutions alike. Her workshops and collaborative projects are rooted in her commitment to fostering creativity, inclusivity, and community connection through the arts.
Philosophy
Alice’s vision is to create playful, collective, and accessible spaces that bring people together to transcend everyday experience, fostering a more inclusive and harmonious world. Through her work, Alice highlights the transformative power of nature and the importance of connectedness with the living world, inviting all to experience the sensory wonder of immersion in nature.
By repurposing unwanted textiles, utilising traditional craft techniques, and working with natural dyes, Alice creates interactive sculptural forms, tactile wearable art, and immersive installations that are both inclusive, community-driven and deepens our bond with nature. Her accessible art workshops facilitate skill-sharing, empowering local voices and allowing community members to creatively present their stories to a broader audience. Alice is committed to co-creating with marginalised communities, individuals with disabilities, and those who have been historically underrepresented, ensuring her work resonates with diverse perspectives.
With a philosophy grounded in holistic, socially, and environmentally conscious values, Alice’s goal is to promote the profound connection between nature and personal wellbeing. By designing neighbourly spaces for community engagement, she invites participants to discover new ways of thinking, feeling, and connecting through nature’s healing presence.
Artist CV
EDUCATION
2026 - Level 3 Award in education and training (NCFE), CityLit
2025 - Trauma Informed Practice, The Create Charity
2024 - NSPCC Safeguarding Certificate
2023 - Early-Stage Dementia Awareness Training, Arts 4 Dementia
2016/20 - First Class BA Hons in Textiles: Innovation and Design, Loughborough University.
2020 - Diploma in Professional Studies, Loughborough University.
2015 - Art and Design Foundation, Distinction, Loughborough University.
COMMISSIONS & COLLABORATIONS
2026 - Creative Practitioner for National Autistic Unit | Bethlem Hospital
2025/26 - Creative Practitioner for Arbor Trellis collaboration with UCL PhD researcher & community groups | UCL, London
2025/2026 - Commissioned major artwork by Private Members Club Maslow's | South Kensington
2025 - Creative Practitioner for Art Voyage Biennial, Arts Council Project Grant | Lewisham, London
2024 - Creative Practitioner for Henry Moore Foundation for 'Collective Forms' Project & Exhibition | Hertfordshire
2024 - Creative Practitioner for Royal Horticultural Society for 'Gardens of Imagination' Programme | Lewisham, London
2023 /24 - Creative Practitioner & commissioned Installation by ArtHouse Jersey | 'Land & Us | La Tèrre Et Nous' Project | Jersey
2023 - Workshop Facilitator for Arts 4 Dementia & Buckingham Palace | 6 Weeks Facilitation Collaboration | London
2022/23 - Creative Practitioner for Lewisham Borough of Culture & Cockpit Studios | Commissioned Installation 'Murmuration' & Lead Maker for Creative Challenge | London
2021/23 - Commissioned by Hayward Gallery | Collection for Louise Bourgeois 'The Woven Child' Exhibition | South Bank, London
2021 - Commissioned by Toast & Crafts Council for Repairs/Artwork for 'Renewal' Project
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2026 - SEND School Residency | Swiss Cottage School
2023 /24 - 'Land & Us | La Tèrre Et Nous' at ArtHouse Jersey | Jersey
2023 - Maker in Residence at Goya Design Studio | Peckham, London
2022 - 'When Waste Meets Design' Exhibition at Arthouse Jersey | Jersey
2022 - London Borough of Culture - Artist in Residence for the Day | Lewisham, London
2021 /23 - 'Make It' Maker at Cockpit Studios Deptford | Lewisham, London
2020 - Modern Painters, New Decorators | East Midlands
AWARDS
2025 - 'Repair, Reuse, Recycle' Grant from Lewisham Council | London
2024 - Shortlisted for the 'Inclusive Design Residency' at Victoria & Albert Museum
2023 - Scouted by TV Show 'Repair Shop' for a maker role
2022 - The Fine Art Textile Prize 2022 | Shortlisted, supported by The Open College of the Arts.
2022 - Awarded Cockpit Textile Prize 2022
2021 - A-N Artists Bursaries 2021 | Time Space Money
2021 - Loughborough University | Founder's Club Grant
2021/22 - Awarded the 'Developing Your Creative Practice' Grant from Arts Council
2021 - Nominated by Tamsin Blanchard for '2022 Arts Foundation Futures Award for Materials Innovation, focused on participatory and co-created theatre.'
2020 - Awarded 'Make It at Cockpit Arts 2021'
2020 - ‘One to Watch’ Youth Crafts Council
2016/20 - ‘Sarabande Foundation Scholarship’, Sarabande Foundation founded by Lee Alexander McQueen
2016 - ‘John Mack Foundation Prize’ Loughborough University
2014 - 'The Samantha Malbon Memorial Trophy' for Art and Design
2010 - Art Scholarship for St Dominic's Grammar School, Brewood.
TALKS & SEMINARS
2025 - 'Celebrating Cultural Diversity in Contemporary Art at Royal Society of Arts for Art Voyage Biennial Annual Summit
2025 - 'Greening your Art Practice' at Walsall Art Gallery
2024 - 'What is Creative Health' for Waltham Forest Council
2024 - Arts & Health Hub 'Artist Peer Group' talk at South Bank Centre
2024 - Panel Talk for Cockpit Effect 2024 at Art Guild | London
2024 - 'Waste Not! With Alice Burnhope' at Amwell Quilters | Hertfordshire
2024 - 'Waste Not! With Alice Burnhope' at Bromley Embroiderers Guild | London
2024 - Artist Talk & Tour for 'Land & Us | La Tèrre Et Nous' Project at ArtHouse Jersey | Jersey
2023 - Artist Talk for 'Japanese Aesthetics of Recycling' at the Brunei Gallery and in partnership with SOAS | London
2023 - 'Conversation on making with Waste with Alice Burnhope' at St Helen’s Community Centre | Leicestershire
EXHIBTIONS
2026 - 'Lithic Landscape' at APT, Deptford
2025 - 'Echoes of Migration' at Manor House Gardens, Lewisham
2025 - 'Texere' Felt Collection & London Craft Week | Peanut Vendor, London
2025 - Cockpit Edit & London Craft Week | Cockpit Studios, London
2025 - 'Mother Earth' at Galeri Caernarfon | Wales
2025 - 'Sustainable Textile Futures: Contemporary Textiles Responses to Traditional Japanese Craft' at Embassy of Japan | London
2024 - 'Collective Forms' in collaboration with Henry Moore Foundation and community groups | Henry Moore Foundation, Hertfordshire
2024 - 'Threads of Nature' Exhibition in collaboration with Royal Horticultural Society for 'Gardens of Imagination Programme at Hartslane | Lewisham, London
2024 - 'A Textile Assembly' Group Show Curated by Craft Show | London Craft Week at Staffordshire Street Gallery | Peckham, London
2024 - 'Land & Us | La Tèrre Et Nous' at ArtHouse Jersey Capital House | Jersey
2023 - 'Murmuration' Installation for Lewisham Borough of Culture | Forest Hill Library, Lewisham London
2022 - The Knitting & Stitching Show in London and Harrogate
2022 - The Festival of Quilts at NEC Birmingham
2022 - 'When Waste Meets Design' Exhibition at Arthouse Jersey
2022 - 'Soft Dialogue' with Soft Collective, during London Craft Week. The Department Store, Brixton
2022 - Artwork for sale at 'Louise Bourgeois: The Woven Child' Exhibition at the Hayward Gallery
2021 - 'Crown Shyness' SKT Spaces at The Halley. Haggerston, London
2021 - 'In the Wild' The Artist Lounge
2021 - 'Fashion Season' LCB Depot, Leicestershire
2021 - 'Rising Stars 2021: Call for Early Career Makers,' New Ashgate Gallery, Surrey
2020 - ‘Home(work)’ at ArtHelix Gallery, New York in partnership with SHIM Art Network and The Social Distance Art Project
2020 - 'Feet on the Ground Head in the Sky,' Modern Painter, New Decorators, East Midlands
2020 - ‘Design Season 3’ showcase at LCB Depot, East Midlands
2020 - Solo exhibition ‘Harmony’ at Gallery No.32, London
2020 - ‘Complication’ exhibition at Eclectic Magazine
2020 - ‘Earth’ exhibition at Round Lemon
2020 - 'Online Degree Show,' Loughborough University Creative Arts, East Midlands
2018 - 2020 - Designs were selected for Première Vision in Paris
2017 - 'Making History' exhibition at Charnwood Community Centre
2016 - 'Transparency and Layers' installation was exhibited at Loughborough University
2016 - Foundation Year Postcard Art show, exhibited at Loughborough University
WORKSHOP PARTNERS
2025 - Morley College
2025 - City Lit
2025 - KYN Care Homes | London
2025 - Kew Gardens | London
2025 - Embassy of Japan | London
2025 - Historic Royal Palaces | London
2025 - West Dean College
2025 - Walsall Art Gallery | West Midlands
2025 - Create Charity | London
2024 - Henry Moore Foundation | Hertfordshire
2024 - Intoarts | Peckham, London
2024 - Royal Academy of Arts | London
2024 - Saturday Club | Deptford, London
2024 - Stitch Club | Online
2024 - Leighton House & Sambourne House | Chelsea, London
2024 - The British Museum | London
2024 - Royal Horticultural Society | London
2024 - Arte International | Chelsea, London
2024 - Gallery No.32 | South East, London
2023/24 - St George's Hospital Charity | London
2023 - Buckingham Palace | London
2023 - ACAVA & Maxilla Men's Shed | Kensington, London
2023/24 - Now Gallery | London
2023/24 - Greenwich Peninsula | London
2023 - Migration Museum | Lewisham, London
2023 - Katie Treggiden | Online
2023 - Hole & Corner | London
2023 - Adidas | London
2023 - Goya Design | London
2022/23 - Deptford Green Secondary School | Lewisham, London
2022/24 - ArtHouse Jersey | Jersey
2022/24 - Royal Maritime Museums | London
2022/25 - Arts 4 Dementia | London
2022 - Old Spitalfields Market | London
2022 - London Craft Week | London
2022 - American Vintage | London
2022/23 - Lewisham Borough of Culture | Lewisham, London
2021 - London Design Week | London
2021 - Colour of Saying | London
2021 - Toast | London
2021/24 - Cockpit Studios | London
WORK EXPERIENCE
2022 /24 - Colour of Saying | Experience-driven CMF design agency | Freelance CMF Designer, Research & Studio Assistant
2022 /23 - Social Media Coordinator for Young Craft Citizen at Crafts Council
2022 - Deptford Green Secondary School | Freelance Textile Tutor | Teaching Year 10 Textile students, stitch techniques leading up to their GSCE’s
2021 - Studio Assistant for Unit 89 | Ceramics and Installation studio
2018/19 - Three London internships at PriestmanGoode, Anne Kyyro Quinn and John Alexander Skelton