Whanganui textile designer Matthew McIntyre Wilson will visit Dundee, Scotland, in April 2026 as part of the Textile Legacies programme. Photo / Supplied
Whanganui textile designer Matthew McIntyre Wilson will visit Dundee, Scotland, in April 2026 as part of the Textile Legacies programme. Photo / Supplied
Whanganui designer Matthew McIntyre Wilson has been selected for a new international residency programme that will involve him swapping places with fellow designer Hannah Sabapathy from Dundee, Scotland.
The Textile Legacies programme aims to strengthen ties between the two Unesco Cities of Design, Whanganui and Dundee, through sharing ancestral textilepractices.
Wilson will trade places with Sabapathy in early 2026.
“This collaboration benefits both locations and demonstrates how smaller cities can lead in cultural diplomacy,” Unesco City of Design Whanganui focal point Dr Emma Bugden said.
The designers will each spend a month in their new city, exchanging and learning new practices from their respective communities.
“This residency offers a rare opportunity to deepen my work in raranga whakairo [patterned weaving],” Wilson said.
“Engaging with early Māori textiles held in Scotland will strengthen my understanding of their histories and techniques.”
Sabapathy is an artist and researcher who trained as a printed textile designer. She examines the power dynamics behind South Asian and British textile design history through pattern.
“I’m delighted to be participating in the Whanganui x Dundee: Textile Legacies residency,” Sabapathy said.
“It will extend my work around the politics of pattern design, enabling me to explore the complexities of materiality in the context of Whanganui.”
The programme is the first formal creative exchange between Whanganui and Dundee since they each achieved Unesco City of Design status.
It is supported by organisations from both cities, including Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery.
Unesco City of Design Dundee project co-ordinator Lizzie Day said: “We are very excited to welcome Matthew to Dundee in 2026 and for Dundee’s own Hannah Sabapathy to journey to New Zealand.”
The work created during the exchange will be publicly displayed in both cities.
“We anticipate this project will spark deeper connections and we hope that long-term collaboration with Whanganui will emerge from this initial exchange,” Day said.
British Council New Zealand and the Pacific director Natasha Beckman said: “When designers share ancestral textile practices across cultures, they can preserve heritage while opening new creative possibilities.”
