Southend Sails, 2026
Southend-on-Sea, Essex
Southend Sails is a community-made textile artwork for Southend High Street, created with local people using recycled boat sails and silk remnants from Kinetika’s collection.
Led by artist Katrin Mountain, the project brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to design and create a large-scale public artwork shaped by lived experience, shared stories and life along the Thames Estuary. Through a series of open, accessible design and making sessions, participants explore ideas, learn simple textile techniques and work collaboratively towards a single, collective outcome.
At the heart of the project is one shared question:
What makes you feel like you’ve got the wind in your sails?
The finished artwork will carry messages of hope, motivation and connection, and will be installed in the heart of Southend, reflecting the voices and creativity of those who took part.
Workshops take place at Create98 and Brazilarte units inside the Victoria Shopping Centre, Southend-on-Sea.
All sessions are free, open to everyone and designed to be welcoming, supportive and informal. No prior experience is needed and all materials are provided.
Threads for Tomorrow Workshops, Kinetika Studios, 2025
Southend Sails is a legacy project of Threads for Tomorrow, one of the eight regional Beach of Dreams commissions across the Thames Estuary.
Rooted in questions of waste, climate and collective care, the project transformed storm-damaged Beach of Dreams Silks into a bold new public artwork. Led by designer and textile artist Rahemur Rahman, the commission brought together eight sewing groups from across the Estuary.
Working with fragments of the original silks, naturally dyed threads and waste materials gathered from the Thames shoreline, each group created a unique panel. These panels are stitched together to form the sails of two contemporary, sampan-inspired mobile structures, co-designed by Rahemur and Kinetika.
Building on Beach of Dreams’ focus on climate, place and collective imagination, Southend Sails continues Kinetika’s long-term commitment to community-led making and environmentally conscious practice.
The project is commissioned by Southend-on-Sea City Council and funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Southend Sails is delivered in collaboration with Create98, Brazilarte Academy and Welcome To The UK.