Collect Week: Bruno Vinhas - 5 Minutes with a Friend
Bruno Vinhas is a textile artist and curator whose work is deeply rooted in cultural heritage, inclusivity, and the global craft community. With a background in Cultural Tourism and Hospitality and a degree in Textiles: Craft & Apparel Design, he has dedicated his career to fostering the craft sector. Vinhas brings a rich, multifaceted perspective to both his artistic and curatorial practice. His curation of the Craft Alliance Atlantic Association exhibition, on view in the South Wing of Somerset House for the Collect Art Fair 2025, is no exception.
Vinhas' curatorial work focuses on accessibility, the preservation of both traditional and contemporary craft, and the creation of meaningful opportunities for artists. We caught up with him for a heartfelt conversation about his connection to textiles and his ongoing work in the field.
Bruno Vinhas
What is your first memory of textiles?
My very first memory of textile work is sitting at the foot of my gran’s sewing cabinet and going through the scraps of fabric as she graciously worked on garments and houseware for my family. I was about 5 or 6 then - and fast forward to when I was 16 and was working in theatre - I used the same sewing machine to try my first stitches in costuming, under her guidance.
I was born in Brazil from a family of European immigrants, native Brazilians and African descendants, the passion for fabrics, threads and textures came from the most different places and cultural heirloom pieces. From woven plants, and handmade lace to vibrant colours and patterns, the presence of textile pieces guided me on a journey to understand one’s culture, place, history and story.
I Must Survive, Bruno Vinhas, 2019, Embroidery, leatherwork, needle felting and hand-weaving on linen.
Is there a place that most inspires you to learn about or discover textiles?
I am truly passionate about community and the intrinsic characteristics that each of them carries into their textile work. Since leaving my home country and moving to 4 different countries, I learned that the most inspiring place to learn about textiles traditions and contemporary practices is immersing yourself in the community that inspires you.
From the traditional doilies and old century embroidery and its contemporary approach in Ireland and Portugal, to beautiful patterns brought to Brazil by the most diverse tribes of Africa, to basketry and fibre weaving of the incredible Native Brazilians (the Tupinambás) and the Māori people in New Zealand to all the beautiful knits, weaves, and beading work of Atlantic Canada, the places that I learnt the most about textile techniques was through conversations over a cup of coffee. In an artist studio, in rural community gatherings, listening to an elder describe the ways of the past and how the younger generation is taking it a step further.
The thread of life is gently sewn, woven, dyed, manipulated and presented in the stories told by those that understand, respect and bend the materials used. When you are ready and willing to listen, be vulnerable, and leave behind all the pre-concepts one carries, there is a wonderful and mysterious fibre and textile world out there waiting to tell their stories and talented artists willing to share their journey.
What has inspired you or what are you thinking about for your gallery space at Collect next year?
Since 2023, I have been studying sustainable craft practices and their connection to land and place. In the fall of 2024, I was fortunate to organise a Sustainable Fibre Arts Conference in Gros Morne (Newfoundland) and through all this process a topic that kept coming up was the connection between sustainability and bodies of water. That was the starting point of my curatorial inspiration for Collect’s exhibition.
Travelling through Canada’s Atlantic Provinces, in the 9 years I have been living in the country, made evident to me that this region’s landscape profoundly influences the work of its artists and shape their practice. In every conversation and in many of their bodies of work, the winding paths of bodies waters of this area serve as inspiration, allowing artists to create simple, yet powerful, contemporary artworks filled with character and deep significance.
It is my goal as a curator that the Craft Alliance Atlantic Association’s exhibition at the 2025 Collect Art Fair will present works that transcend time, place, and people, carrying memories from the creator to the object and onto the viewer. The selected pieces flow with energy, contemplation, and beauty, forming an endless stream of emotion—an evocative reminder of the artists' identities, origins, and place in history. This exhibition highlights the interconnectedness of the Atlantic region’s craft community and the link with the other side of the Atlantic Ocean shedding “a light on the past and looking towards a better, more understanding, future built on the fresh connection between the artists presented. The exhibit reflects the atmosphere of a region that has the deepest respect to the original people of Turtle Island and draws a distinctive quality of Canadian Art and its people to the international viewers.” *
Susan Furneaux, Safe Harbour 3 (Detail) 2024
Rilla Marshall, Meta Weave Large Pattern, 2024
What textile makers or artists do you think are exciting/ ones to watch this year?
That is the toughest question to answer! There are so many exquisite works being exhibited at Collect that it is hard to pick one.
If you are passionate about fibre arts, at our space you must take some time to see Rilla Marshall’s Meta Weaving series, all created with carefully hand dyed warps and weft and drawing from the geometrical shapes of water ripples; Ralph Simpson’s and Susan Furneaux’s fibre sculptures will take your breath away with all its details and fibre manipulation both on woven fibre and handmade surfaces in fish leather, paper and plant fibre and embroidery respectively, and Anastasia Tiller’s rug hooked pieces with its vibrant colours and themes will bring joy to you and your home!
Both Wanbing Huang and Michelle House, at Collect Open, with their contemporary approach to fibre sculpture and print making are also incredible artists to watch out for this year.
Ralph Simpson, Regeneration 3, 2023
If you could own one artist's work for your personal collection, what would it be?
From the fibre artists on the Craft Alliance Atlantic Association space, I would love to add a piece from Ralph Simpson’s woven sculpture series to my collection, their organic form and respect for material really intrigues me. His work delves into the abstract recreation of natural forms through flawless plant fibre weaving. I am fortunate to have pieces from the other fibre artists at our exhibition in my personal collection which I cherish deeply!
From the overall Collect fair, it is a dream to have a piece by Richard McVetis, I have always been extremely in awe of his embroidery technique and the themes he works from.
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*Quote extract:
HERE + NOW: Connecting Culture + Landscape through Water (Catalogue - Full Version)
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Further Information:
Bruno Vinhas:
Anastasia Tiller:
Susan Furneaux:
Rilla Marshall:
Ralph Simpson:
Craft Alliance Atlantic Association
Craft Alliance Atlantic Association at Collect
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: Anastasia Tiller
Images 2: Amanda Penney
Image 3: Kelly Jerrot
Image 4: Susan Furneaux
Image 5: Rilla Marshall
Image 6: Ralph Simpson