CALICO dress NO. 5
b-side Festival, Portland, Dorset, UK, 2024 – ongoing
The Portland Dress was unveiled as a blank canvas at the b-side festival on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, in September 2024. It will be embellished by Portland residents and the completed dress shown at the b-side BIG Weekend in September 2025.
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Calico Dress No. 5 – the Portland Dress – was exhibited alongside The Red Dress at the St George’s Centre on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, during the b-side festival 2024. Inspired by The Red Dress, it will be decorated by local residents and those connected with the island before reemerging at the next b-side festival.
Connected to the Jurassic Coast by Chesil Beach, Portland is a unique location. b-side seeks to both celebrate the island individually and its connection to the bigger picture and commissions artists who focus on people and place from both a local and global perspective.
Workshops led by Portland-based textile artists Antje Rook and Sarah Whiteside will take place from January to July 2025 enabling people to come together to add their stories to the Portland Dress project around the themes of heritage, identity and migration.
The events are drop-in sessions with materials provided plus support to explore basic embroidery and fabric collage techniques. Participants are invited to bring heirloom items to incorporate into their designs, with contributions added to the garment before its display in September 2025.
https://b-side.org.uk/project/the-portland-dress/
OUR SUPPORTERS
A huge thank you to all who have given their time, energy, enthusiasm, advice, experience and support to The Red Dress project over the years.
In addition to the organisations below, funding has been gratefully received from a number of private donations and via three crowdfunding campaigns in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
In addition to the organisations below, funding has been gratefully received from a number of private donations and via three crowdfunding campaigns in 2020, 2022 and 2024.












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