Wednesday 24 January 2024, Flying Flags

18:00 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

Online talk, hosted on Zoom

Flags carry, quite literally, a visual language all their own. Vexillology and flag design has its own vocabulary and specialist terms: lovely words like badge, canton, charge, emblem, field and fimbriation. As (most) house flags were such simple examples of design, there is a lot of repetition of symbols and colours. Circles, squares, triangles–many follow aesthetic rules that have also been used in flag's sister field: heraldry. And their colours have significance too; a red flag, for example, is often a flag of protest. Many of the flags have one or two capital letters on them, which stand for names of companies–visible from a distance but also easy to change when company names changed. Flags are textile history, representative of good and sometimes bad human endeavours over the years. They're still instantly recognisable symbols, still relevant today, albeit in different form; think of the wide array of flag emojis available to our thumbs.

For this monthly online talk, we bring together historians, textile makers, union stewards and designers to explore the role of flags. 

This talk is part of a series of four talks called Uncut Cloths. Get one talk free if you buy all four talks in this series at once. Add all four talks to the basket and the discount will automatically be applied.

Confirmed speakers: 

Jakkai Siributr
Jakkai Siributr is known primarily for his textile and embroidery works, and his installations increasingly offer an element of audience participation. Siributr is concerned with the unofficial histories that have been written out of Thai account as well as intersections between personal and regional histories. He creates a delicate tension between his subject matter — ongoing conflict driven by nationalistic discrimination against minorities — and the visual sensuality of his chosen form and materials.  More recently he has begun to work with various communities through embroidery workshops including refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border and the USA. He also worked with the Thai Government on a social developmental program in remote areas of Mozambique. Studying and residing in the USA for nearly ten years, Siributr earned his BA in Textiles/Fine Arts, at Indiana University Bloomington in 1992 and MS in Printed Textile Design at the Philadelphia University in 1996. He was an instructor at Thammasat University’s Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts from 1996-2003.

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac is a visionary designer and artist who anticipated the foundations of what fashion is today by infusing art, sport, cartoons and collaborations within his designs.
All the artistic environments he touches on embody his passion for history, childhood, and poetry, as well as express his love for bright primary hues. One of the best examples of this, is the line he created for Pope John Paul II, 500 bishops and 5000 priests for World Youth Day in Paris in 1997.
During his career, he has worked with many artists such as Keith Haring, Robert
Mattlepthorpe and Lady Gaga.

Sue Prichard
Sue Prichard is Head Curator of Leeds Castle, and is responsible for caring for the Estate’s buildings and landscape as well as the important interiors created by French designers Armand-Albert Rateau  and Stéphane Boudin.  Her previous roles include Senior Curator at the Queen’s House, Greenwich and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Textiles at the V&A, where she developed her passion for mid-century design.  She writes and lectures on fashion and textiles from 1900-1960, and has curated a number of exhibitions including the internationally successful ‘Quilts 1700-2010: Hidden Histories, Untold Stories’

Edmund Hall, more information to come...

Zoom details and recordings 

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A recording of the talk will also be available to ticket holders after the event. Please allow 7 working days for us to send you access to the recording.

Cancellation policy
All orders for online talks are non-refundable.