At present CHAT is a group of 12 members who meet 9 times during the year. Presenting a completely new body of work within only one year is quite tough so most work is done by members in the time between meetings.

The group was set up when Ann Small offered classes to embroiderers with some previous experience in 1997. She was looking for students who were serious about their textile work. She aimed to give feedback, tuition and encouragement to students to enable them to produce their own original work. The group met in Clarance House in Thaxted and were called Art Textiles.

In 2001 they formed an exhibiting group and called themselves Clarance House Art Textiles C.H.A.T. The beautiful Guildhall at Thaxted seemed an ideal place to hold an exhibition of stitched textiles.

The Small Chat exhibition runs during the weeks of the Thaxted Music Festival and gives many people their first ever experience of seeing textile art.

It is our purpose to promote textiles as an art form and C.H.A.T. have been received well by the public and they have been delighted by the comments in the guest book. The exhibition is visited by people from near and far and the artists are usually on hand to talk about their work with great enthusiasm.

The prerequisite for admission to this group is a high level of motivation and the ability to pursue themes and to research and develop on ones own initiative. Before being accepted to join this group you are invited to attend an interview at which you are asked to bring a portfolio of your current work, sketch books etc.

Future events include exhibitions in 2010 at the Knitting Stitching Shows at NEC Birmingham, Alexandra Palace London, RDS, Dublin and Harrogate International Centre.

Each year’s exhibition demonstrates the group’s continuing commitment to move forward, break new boundaries and to challenge preconceived ideas. It shows that textile art can be appreciated in a wide variety of contexts.