Textile Protest: Artists, Activism and the Historical Power of Cloth in Protest. Julia Triston

Textile Protest is a landmark global survey of how cloth has been used as a medium of resistance—spanning banners, flags, clothing and fine-art textile pieces from the twentieth century to today. Julia Triston traces forms of protest that are bold, satirical, ironic, humorous or deeply symbolic: suffragette and union banners, knitted pussyhats from the Women’s March, artworks from the Guerrilla Girls, Pride flags, pieces from the Black Lives Matter movement. It shows that textiles aren’t just passive backdrops but active agents in social and political change.

Beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully curated, the book also explores how everyday materials—domestic cloth, upcycled fabric, embroidery—can be transformed into powerful statements. It includes interviews with activist artists, works of political textile art (such as Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party), and reflections on how design choices (colour, form, scale) amplify voice and visibility. The narrative draws connections between craft and activism, memory and protest, showing how even small pieces of stitched cloth can engender large conversations.

About the Author
Julia Triston is a designer-maker and long-standing educator in stitched textiles, with more than thirty years’ experience teaching in the creative industries. Her own practice is infused with activism: she works with upcycled materials, uses textile in protest art, and has made work that intervenes in public space (including a “Bra-ra” dress displayed on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square).

Publication date: 2019
Publisher: Batsford
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9781849949071