Dare to Dream
What is Dare to Dream?
Be a part of a monumental artwork celebrating Derbyshire’s textiles heritage.
Inspired by Derbyshire’s history of innovation, Dare to Dream invites everyone from across the county (and beyond!) to create new flags embodying hope, aspiration and radical thinking.
Using old, unwanted fabrics and found materials, we invite you to make powerful statements of possibility using flags, garments or banners. How can we change things for the better? What do you dream will be different?
Alex Murphy, Derbyshire resident and recent contestant on the BBC’s The Great British Sewing Bee, is personally inviting you to take part – whether you are an individual, community group, artist or business, you can get involved from anywhere in the county. Watch a short video of Alex explaining Dare to Dream below.
Want to get involved?
The journey begins with flag-making workshops. Following the success of the Dare to Dream workshops in the first Derbyshire Makes Festival in March/April 2025, we're now running free, flag-making workshops for groups across the county. Or you can join in remotely, using our resource pack.
We can't wait to share your stories, voice your ideas, and help to fashion the future of this unique place. We'll be inviting you to post your creations on social media, upload them onto our Digital Loom (coming soon) and help us celebrate through collective installations.
Are you are an individual, group, organisation or school that wants to get involved; can you donate fabric or materials; are you an artist that would like to deliver a workshop or a business that would like to offer support; or do you want to get involved in another way? Then please fill out this form and we'll get back to you within 7-10 days.
Dare to Dream artists
Lead artist Sue Reddish, Ambassador Alex Murphy, Public Art Curator Cathy Newbery and Derbyshire Makes Creative Director Claire Tymon are working with these six selected artists from across Derbyshire to deliver Dare to Dream:
Abigail Wastie
Christine Thomas
Karen Logan
Lois Blackburn
Bernie Rutter
Rosie Sykes (Emerging artist)
For more details on the artists, visit the About page.
Let’s reimagine what Derbyshire can be. Let’s dare to dream.
Derbyshire was first to harness the power of water in its mills and become a global hub for textile production. But we now know that this innovation had unintended consequences – including rising consumerism and environmental destruction.
So, using reclaimed and repurposed materials, we will share ideas for how things might change, weaving our hopes and dreams into thousands of flags representing a brighter future for Derbyshire.
This is our chance to discover Derbyshire’s textiles heritage, create a monumental artwork together, and dream of a better future through making.