The Living Dress

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The Living Dress

Latest News

Postcode Neighbourhood Trust Funding!
Paint silk with us this March
Volunteer Celebration Night 2026 – Weds 28th Jan
Flying the Flag for Green Libraries launches across Greater Manchester
Cabasa partners with Global Grooves to deliver Creative Careers visual arts training

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We are so excited to announce our Unheard Stories exhibition this July at Stalybridge Civic Hall!

Unheard Stories: The Exhibition

🗓 Friday 3rd July: 10am - 5pm
🗓 Saturday 4th July: 11am - 4pm
📍Stalybridge Civic Hall, Trinity Street, Stalybridge, SK15 2BN
🎟 Free entry

___

Through body art portraits, textiles, sculpture, photography, audio stories, poetry, and film, this large-scale exhibition shares lived experiences of endometriosis, pregnancy, and access to reproductive healthcare.

Over the past six years, Cabasa has worked with hundreds of women and people across Greater Manchester. Now, we invite you to hear their stories and celebrate the people who have shaped this work.

The exhibition will include images from both our Endomorphosis groups, pregnancy and postnatal body painting, audio stories, written experiences, textile work, and a large batik dress created for our Living Dress sculpture, carrying women’s stories of accessing reproductive healthcare.

We hope to see you there!

@heritagefunduk @aceagrams @postcodelotteryuk @the_vale_mossley

#UnheardStories #BodyArt #cabasacarnivalarts #BodyPainting #Stalybridge

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We are so excited to announce our Unheard Stories exhibition this July at Stalybridge Civic Hall! Unheard Stories: The Exhibition 🗓 Friday 3rd July: 10am - 5pm 🗓 Saturday 4th July: 11am - 4pm 📍Stalybridge Civic Hall, Trinity Street, Stalybridge, SK15 2BN 🎟 Free entry ___ Through body art portraits, textiles, sculpture, photography, audio stories, poetry, and film, this large-scale exhibition shares lived experiences of endometriosis, pregnancy, and access to reproductive healthcare. Over the past six years, Cabasa has worked with hundreds of women and people across Greater Manchester. Now, we invite you to hear their stories and celebrate the people who have shaped this work. The exhibition will include images from both our Endomorphosis groups, pregnancy and postnatal body painting, audio stories, written experiences, textile work, and a large batik dress created for our Living Dress sculpture, carrying women’s stories of accessing reproductive healthcare. We hope to see you there! @heritagefunduk @aceagrams @postcodelotteryuk @the_vale_mossley #UnheardStories #BodyArt #cabasacarnivalarts #BodyPainting #Stalybridge

3 days ago

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1/9

Tie-dye fun again for @mrwilsonssecondliners! More rave shirts please 🌈 🙂

#tiedye #textiles #cabasacarnivalarts #tiedyeshirt #mrwilsonssecondliners

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Tie-dye fun again for @mrwilsonssecondliners! More rave shirts please 🌈 🙂 #tiedye #textiles #cabasacarnivalarts #tiedyeshirt #mrwilsonssecondliners

6 days ago

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2/9

We had a great time bringing The Great Garden Carnival (a Cabasa x GG collab) to Festival Oldham on Saturday, the sun was shining! Great to kick off Oldham’s year as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture. Check out these great photos.

📸 Darren Robinson, Ian Hodgson.

#CabasaCarnivalArts #GlobalGrooves #FestivalOldham #OutdoorArts #Oldham

•

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We had a great time bringing The Great Garden Carnival (a Cabasa x GG collab) to Festival Oldham on Saturday, the sun was shining! Great to kick off Oldham’s year as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture. Check out these great photos. 📸 Darren Robinson, Ian Hodgson. #CabasaCarnivalArts #GlobalGrooves #FestivalOldham #OutdoorArts #Oldham

1 week ago

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3/9

We’re delighted to announce we’ve received ongoing funding from Postcode Neighbourhood Trust! Over the next 3 years this funding will go towards supporting our core work to bring events, workshops, and ongoing projects to life which amplify often unheard voices in the community, enabling more women to take part, share their stories, and feel connected through Carnival art.

This Funding awarded by @postcodelotteryuk and raised by Postcode Lottery players (thank you!)

Image: Andrew Hayhurst

#PostcodeLotteryPeople #Cabasacarnivalarts #CarnivalUK #OutdoorArts

•

Follow

We’re delighted to announce we’ve received ongoing funding from Postcode Neighbourhood Trust! Over the next 3 years this funding will go towards supporting our core work to bring events, workshops, and ongoing projects to life which amplify often unheard voices in the community, enabling more women to take part, share their stories, and feel connected through Carnival art. This Funding awarded by @postcodelotteryuk and raised by Postcode Lottery players (thank you!) Image: Andrew Hayhurst #PostcodeLotteryPeople #Cabasacarnivalarts #CarnivalUK #OutdoorArts

2 weeks ago

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4/9

Happy Whit Friday! It was fabulous to unveil this new community banner we made for Mossley Heritage Centre and @mossleytowncouncil at this new wonderful Whit Friday celebration event at Seel Park in Mossley today! It was great to bring their vision to life.

So many hands went into the making of this, and into the future it will be added to by many more hands.

Design by Lizzie Rigby and Kate Rothery.
Martha Webster worked with lots and lots of children from Micklehurst School as well as Crafty Saturdays here at The Vale to make fabric for the edges and letters.
Hand painted and batiked by artists Nina Smith, Kate Rothery, Mary O’Neill, and Emily Wood as well lots of wonderful Cabasa volunteerswho gave their time.
The amazing Dyllis from Mossley Heritage Centre came and waxed the banner with us too!
Applique by Wednesday craft group at The Vale.
Sewn by Helen Plaumer
Poles made by Gordon Banks

We can’t wait to see the journey the banner will go on next.

#Cabasa #MossleyHeritageCentre #Mossley #silkbatik #WhitFriday2026 @heritagefunduk

•

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Happy Whit Friday! It was fabulous to unveil this new community banner we made for Mossley Heritage Centre and @mossleytowncouncil at this new wonderful Whit Friday celebration event at Seel Park in Mossley today! It was great to bring their vision to life. So many hands went into the making of this, and into the future it will be added to by many more hands. Design by Lizzie Rigby and Kate Rothery. Martha Webster worked with lots and lots of children from Micklehurst School as well as Crafty Saturdays here at The Vale to make fabric for the edges and letters. Hand painted and batiked by artists Nina Smith, Kate Rothery, Mary O’Neill, and Emily Wood as well lots of wonderful Cabasa volunteerswho gave their time. The amazing Dyllis from Mossley Heritage Centre came and waxed the banner with us too! Applique by Wednesday craft group at The Vale. Sewn by Helen Plaumer Poles made by Gordon Banks We can’t wait to see the journey the banner will go on next. #Cabasa #MossleyHeritageCentre #Mossley #silkbatik #WhitFriday2026 @heritagefunduk

2 weeks ago

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5/9

This Saturday 30th May we’ll be at Festival Oldham bringing our fun, colourful celebration of nature with flora and forna inspired costumes, drummers and lovely puppet Sofiya. Another GG X Cabasa Collab.

The sun will be shining and we’ll be filling Oldham with vibrant summer Carnival vibes. We’ll be doing 3 mini parades in the town Centre at 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm.

We love Festival Oldham, there’s loads going on over the day 🌞

Find out more visit @iloveoldham

#FestivalOldham #Oldham #CabasaCIC #GlobalGrooves #GreatGardenCarnival

•

Follow

This Saturday 30th May we’ll be at Festival Oldham bringing our fun, colourful celebration of nature with flora and forna inspired costumes, drummers and lovely puppet Sofiya. Another GG X Cabasa Collab. The sun will be shining and we’ll be filling Oldham with vibrant summer Carnival vibes. We’ll be doing 3 mini parades in the town Centre at 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm. We love Festival Oldham, there’s loads going on over the day 🌞 Find out more visit @iloveoldham #FestivalOldham #Oldham #CabasaCIC #GlobalGrooves #GreatGardenCarnival

2 weeks ago

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6/9

The Flying the Flag for Green Libraries flags are now on public display at Ashton Library in Tameside, you can see them between 26th May - 20th June.

📍 Tameside One, Market Place, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 6BH

We worked with lots of wonderful young people and families to design and make these naturally dyed silk flags all over Greater Manchester in 2025. Throughout 2026 they are on tour exhibiting to the 10 Greater Manchester libraries we worked with, as well as Manchester Day Parade in July.

@librariesconnected

#cabascabasacarnivalarts #cabasacic #GreenLibraries #climatekindtextiles #naturaldyeing

•

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The Flying the Flag for Green Libraries flags are now on public display at Ashton Library in Tameside, you can see them between 26th May - 20th June. 📍 Tameside One, Market Place, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 6BH We worked with lots of wonderful young people and families to design and make these naturally dyed silk flags all over Greater Manchester in 2025. Throughout 2026 they are on tour exhibiting to the 10 Greater Manchester libraries we worked with, as well as Manchester Day Parade in July. @librariesconnected #cabascabasacarnivalarts #cabasacic #GreenLibraries #climatekindtextiles #naturaldyeing

3 weeks ago

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7/9

Come to Mossley AFC next Friday 29th May (Whit Friday!) to see this fabulous new banner we’ve been making with Mossley Heritage Centre and @mossleytowncouncil (here’s a sneaky peek of the silk panels 👀).

More about the event below:

“As part of our project ‘Protecting the Intangible Heritage of Mossley’, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, there will be a Whit Friday Celebration and Community Lunch Event at Mossley AFC, from 12pm onwards on Friday 29th May, which we have organised in collaboration with Mossley AFC and with support from Mossley Town Council.

Please come and join us for a FREE community lunch, and enjoy a special Whit Friday heritage exhibition, costumed heritage characters and fun, a craft activity for children and the unveiling of a new and colourful Mossley Community banner - the first one for at least a century. All children will receive a special Whit Friday Goodie bag!”

Batik designs by Lizzie Rigby

#MossleyHeritage #Mossley #WhitFriday #Tameside #cabasacarnivalarts @heritagefunduk

•

Follow

Come to Mossley AFC next Friday 29th May (Whit Friday!) to see this fabulous new banner we’ve been making with Mossley Heritage Centre and @mossleytowncouncil (here’s a sneaky peek of the silk panels 👀). More about the event below: “As part of our project ‘Protecting the Intangible Heritage of Mossley’, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, there will be a Whit Friday Celebration and Community Lunch Event at Mossley AFC, from 12pm onwards on Friday 29th May, which we have organised in collaboration with Mossley AFC and with support from Mossley Town Council. Please come and join us for a FREE community lunch, and enjoy a special Whit Friday heritage exhibition, costumed heritage characters and fun, a craft activity for children and the unveiling of a new and colourful Mossley Community banner - the first one for at least a century. All children will receive a special Whit Friday Goodie bag!” Batik designs by Lizzie Rigby #MossleyHeritage #Mossley #WhitFriday #Tameside #cabasacarnivalarts @heritagefunduk

3 weeks ago

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8/9

This Thursday 21st May it’s the Flying the Flag for Green Libraries Exhibition preview in Ashton.

We’ll be at Ashton Library from 6pm – 7pm at this fabulous exhibition preview event chatting about how the Green Libraries flags were made and the process of dying with natural dyes.

We worked with lots of wonderful young people and families to design and make these naturally dyed silk flags all over Greater Manchester in 2025. Throughout 2026 they are on tour exhibiting to the 10 Greater Manchester libraries we worked with, as well as Manchester Day Parade in July.

The flags will be on public display at Ashton Library, Tameside One, between 26th May - 20th June.

Here’s some footage from our Urmston exhibition.

Register (for free) in the link in our bio

#TamesideLibraries #LibrariesConnected

cabascabasacarnivalarts cabasacic GreenLibraries climatekindtextiles naturaldyeing batik silkbatik madder Weld Indig

•

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This Thursday 21st May it’s the Flying the Flag for Green Libraries Exhibition preview in Ashton. We’ll be at Ashton Library from 6pm – 7pm at this fabulous exhibition preview event chatting about how the Green Libraries flags were made and the process of dying with natural dyes. We worked with lots of wonderful young people and families to design and make these naturally dyed silk flags all over Greater Manchester in 2025. Throughout 2026 they are on tour exhibiting to the 10 Greater Manchester libraries we worked with, as well as Manchester Day Parade in July. The flags will be on public display at Ashton Library, Tameside One, between 26th May - 20th June. Here’s some footage from our Urmston exhibition. Register (for free) in the link in our bio #TamesideLibraries #LibrariesConnected cabascabasacarnivalarts cabasacic GreenLibraries climatekindtextiles naturaldyeing batik silkbatik madder Weld Indig

4 weeks ago

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9/9

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CABASA CIC is a registered Community Interest Company No. 11911095

Our supporters:

Latest News

Postcode Neighbourhood Trust Funding!
Paint silk with us this March
Volunteer Celebration Night 2026 – Weds 28th Jan
Flying the Flag for Green Libraries launches across Greater Manchester
Cabasa partners with Global Grooves to deliver Creative Careers visual arts training

Get In Touch

Cabasa CIC
The Annexe, Unit 5 Vale Mill
Micklehurst Road
Mossley
OL5 9JL

E-mail: [email protected]

Instagram

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We are so excited to announce our Unheard Stories exhibition this July at Stalybridge Civic Hall! Unheard Stories: The Exhibition 🗓 Friday 3rd July: 10am - 5pm 🗓 Saturday 4th July: 11am - 4pm 📍Stalybridge Civic Hall, Trinity Street, Stalybridge, SK15 2BN 🎟 Free entry ___ Through body art portraits, textiles, sculpture, photography, audio stories, poetry, and film, this large-scale exhibition shares lived experiences of endometriosis, pregnancy, and access to reproductive healthcare. Over the past six years, Cabasa has worked with hundreds of women and people across Greater Manchester. Now, we invite you to hear their stories and celebrate the people who have shaped this work. The exhibition will include images from both our Endomorphosis groups, pregnancy and postnatal body painting, audio stories, written experiences, textile work, and a large batik dress created for our Living Dress sculpture, carrying women’s stories of accessing reproductive healthcare. We hope to see you there! @heritagefunduk @aceagrams @postcodelotteryuk @the_vale_mossley #UnheardStories #BodyArt #cabasacarnivalarts #BodyPainting #Stalybridge

3 days ago

View on Instagram |

1/9

•

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Tie-dye fun again for @mrwilsonssecondliners! More rave shirts please 🌈 🙂 #tiedye #textiles #cabasacarnivalarts #tiedyeshirt #mrwilsonssecondliners

6 days ago

View on Instagram |

2/9

•

Follow

We had a great time bringing The Great Garden Carnival (a Cabasa x GG collab) to Festival Oldham on Saturday, the sun was shining! Great to kick off Oldham’s year as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture. Check out these great photos. 📸 Darren Robinson, Ian Hodgson. #CabasaCarnivalArts #GlobalGrooves #FestivalOldham #OutdoorArts #Oldham

1 week ago

View on Instagram |

3/9

•

Follow

We’re delighted to announce we’ve received ongoing funding from Postcode Neighbourhood Trust! Over the next 3 years this funding will go towards supporting our core work to bring events, workshops, and ongoing projects to life which amplify often unheard voices in the community, enabling more women to take part, share their stories, and feel connected through Carnival art. This Funding awarded by @postcodelotteryuk and raised by Postcode Lottery players (thank you!) Image: Andrew Hayhurst #PostcodeLotteryPeople #Cabasacarnivalarts #CarnivalUK #OutdoorArts

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

4/9

•

Follow

Happy Whit Friday! It was fabulous to unveil this new community banner we made for Mossley Heritage Centre and @mossleytowncouncil at this new wonderful Whit Friday celebration event at Seel Park in Mossley today! It was great to bring their vision to life. So many hands went into the making of this, and into the future it will be added to by many more hands. Design by Lizzie Rigby and Kate Rothery. Martha Webster worked with lots and lots of children from Micklehurst School as well as Crafty Saturdays here at The Vale to make fabric for the edges and letters. Hand painted and batiked by artists Nina Smith, Kate Rothery, Mary O’Neill, and Emily Wood as well lots of wonderful Cabasa volunteerswho gave their time. The amazing Dyllis from Mossley Heritage Centre came and waxed the banner with us too! Applique by Wednesday craft group at The Vale. Sewn by Helen Plaumer Poles made by Gordon Banks We can’t wait to see the journey the banner will go on next. #Cabasa #MossleyHeritageCentre #Mossley #silkbatik #WhitFriday2026 @heritagefunduk

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

5/9

•

Follow

This Saturday 30th May we’ll be at Festival Oldham bringing our fun, colourful celebration of nature with flora and forna inspired costumes, drummers and lovely puppet Sofiya. Another GG X Cabasa Collab. The sun will be shining and we’ll be filling Oldham with vibrant summer Carnival vibes. We’ll be doing 3 mini parades in the town Centre at 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm. We love Festival Oldham, there’s loads going on over the day 🌞 Find out more visit @iloveoldham #FestivalOldham #Oldham #CabasaCIC #GlobalGrooves #GreatGardenCarnival

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

6/9

•

Follow

The Flying the Flag for Green Libraries flags are now on public display at Ashton Library in Tameside, you can see them between 26th May - 20th June. 📍 Tameside One, Market Place, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 6BH We worked with lots of wonderful young people and families to design and make these naturally dyed silk flags all over Greater Manchester in 2025. Throughout 2026 they are on tour exhibiting to the 10 Greater Manchester libraries we worked with, as well as Manchester Day Parade in July. @librariesconnected #cabascabasacarnivalarts #cabasacic #GreenLibraries #climatekindtextiles #naturaldyeing

3 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

7/9

•

Follow

Come to Mossley AFC next Friday 29th May (Whit Friday!) to see this fabulous new banner we’ve been making with Mossley Heritage Centre and @mossleytowncouncil (here’s a sneaky peek of the silk panels 👀). More about the event below: “As part of our project ‘Protecting the Intangible Heritage of Mossley’, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, there will be a Whit Friday Celebration and Community Lunch Event at Mossley AFC, from 12pm onwards on Friday 29th May, which we have organised in collaboration with Mossley AFC and with support from Mossley Town Council. Please come and join us for a FREE community lunch, and enjoy a special Whit Friday heritage exhibition, costumed heritage characters and fun, a craft activity for children and the unveiling of a new and colourful Mossley Community banner - the first one for at least a century. All children will receive a special Whit Friday Goodie bag!” Batik designs by Lizzie Rigby #MossleyHeritage #Mossley #WhitFriday #Tameside #cabasacarnivalarts @heritagefunduk

3 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

8/9

•

Follow

This Thursday 21st May it’s the Flying the Flag for Green Libraries Exhibition preview in Ashton. We’ll be at Ashton Library from 6pm – 7pm at this fabulous exhibition preview event chatting about how the Green Libraries flags were made and the process of dying with natural dyes. We worked with lots of wonderful young people and families to design and make these naturally dyed silk flags all over Greater Manchester in 2025. Throughout 2026 they are on tour exhibiting to the 10 Greater Manchester libraries we worked with, as well as Manchester Day Parade in July. The flags will be on public display at Ashton Library, Tameside One, between 26th May - 20th June. Here’s some footage from our Urmston exhibition. Register (for free) in the link in our bio #TamesideLibraries #LibrariesConnected cabascabasacarnivalarts cabasacic GreenLibraries climatekindtextiles naturaldyeing batik silkbatik madder Weld Indig

4 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

9/9

View on Instagram

HOME
ABOUT
YOUTH
PORTFOLIO
HIRE
VOLUNTEER
Fabric Processing
CONTACT