Raisa Kabir: I only dance, I wish we could sing

Raisa Kabir speaks about her exhibition, I only dance, I wish we could sing, at The Hub, Sleaford.

At first glance, a coracle seems an unlikely starting point for a story about global textiles. Small, circular and closely associated with Britain’s inland waterways, it is a vessel that belongs to a particular local landscape. Yet in I only dance, I wish we could sing, Raisa Kabir uses this modest watercraft to uncover histories that stretch far beyond the banks of the River Slea.

Raisa Kabir with woven coracles and gathered fibre on a lakeshore. Photograph by Emilia Beatriz.

For their new exhibition at The Hub in Sleaford, Kabir has created an installation shaped by the building’s own past. The gallery occupies the former Hubbards and Philips Seed Warehouse, a reminder of the town’s historic role in the movement of agricultural goods through Lincolnshire. As part of their research, Kabir has been tracing Sleaford’s connection to jute rope and seed sacking — materials that once passed through the warehouse in large quantities and linked this rural market town to wider international trade routes...

(...)

Want to read more of this article?
We are proud to be a subscriber-funded publication with members in 185 countries. We know our readership is passionate about textiles, so we invite you to help us preserve and promote the stories, memories, and histories that fabric holds. Your support allows us to publish our magazine, and also ‘what's on’ information, and subscription interviews, reviews, and long-read articles in our online blog. 

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? CLICK HERE TO ACCESS CONTENT

Or, to continue reading….


Magazine subscribers automatically get free access to all our online content. We send the access code by email with the publication of each issue. You will also find it on the envelope containing your magazine. Please note the access code changes every issue.

...

Image Credits:

Lead: Raisa Kabir, 'After the Empire Falls', 2025. Photo: Jules Lister.

All further images as credited in captions.