Connecting Threads expo: exploring the history and art of the Albany woollen mills at the Albany town hall

An expo this weekend will celebrate the legacy of the historical Albany Woollen Mills. This weekend’s Connecting Threads expo at the town hall will feature art displays by 13 local artists, with many pieces made from Albany milled wool. There will also be talks on the mills’ history, which dates back a century, and on the use of woollen fabrics with Albany wool designer Jo Sharp. The free expo is the brainchild of Albany-based creative and designer Sally Pell, who has been working with wool from the Albany mills in her projects for more than a decade. People with stories or connections to the mill can share them at the event for an upcoming book. A collaboration between Pell and local historian Malcolm Traill, the coffee table book will document the history of the Albany wool mills, the people who worked there, and the art inspired by them. Pell said she decided to start work on a book when she wanted to look into the history of the mills for her own art but discovered there was no dedicated book on the subject. “We decided we needed to be the ones to make something happen, to record the history and the stories around Albany’s wool mills,” she said. “The idea behind the exhibition is to bring the incredibly interesting history behind the wool mills to light for more people ahead of the book being published and hopefully find more people who are connected to it and want to be part of the project. “The book is going to be launched here at the wool mills site on February 5 next year, we have funding for it and permission from Nobel who own the site now. “It’s such an iconic site with such a rich history, and we know there are more stories out there, so hopefully this exhibition will bring them out of the woodwork.” Mr Traill said the mills were a historically rich but largely forgotten piece of Albany history. “We hope the book is going to be a recognition and a reawakening to the history behind the wool mills,” he said. “The expo is going to be the start of collecting the stories and research for the book, which we are going to start production on later in the year, so we can include as many of those stories as possible.” The free event is on this Friday evening from 5-8pm, and Saturday from 10am-2pm, March 14-15, at the Albany town hall on York Street.