Artist Dimitri Haddad was awarded the International Residency Exchange based on a proposal he developed to consider Birmingham’s textile industry. Through research and photography he explored the innovations of the industrial revolution and the impact of globalisation.  Artist, writer and curator Anneka French was awarded the residency to develop her writing practice and to respond to the collections and archives in Madrid.

During the residency Dimitri undertook research at the Library of Birmingham archives and within the built environment to find traces of the industrial revolution. He found that the first modern cotton spinning machine was invented by John Wyatt and Paul Lewis and was first operational in Birmingham’s Old Square. He contrasted this with the city’s retail offer, shopping centres and busy shopping and commercial spaces.

Dimitri documented the city, focusing particularly on shopping areas, and crafted a series of photographs. He hand-printed these images onto textiles, drawing inspiration from the pre-industrial age. At the culmination of the residency, he crafted a dummy photo book that integrated a poem by poet John Dyer. The photo book, featuring text and was designed in the form of a textile pattern book.

Writer Anneka French developed a new piece of writing that commented on her research visit, family and was a response to archives discovered in Madrid. 

Dimitri Haddad is a Syrian artist and curator who was studying for an MA at IED University, Madrid.

The residency emerged from a collaboration between the IED, Madrid, and the exchange opportunity was granted to both Dimitri Haddad and Anneka French. This opportunity was part of a broader series aimed at continuing professional development conceived and executed by GRAIN.