DIY Collections: Archive is a publication commissioned by CVAN West Midlands and DASH to create documentation of the event DIY Collections which took place as part of Coventry Biennial 2025: Obsessions, Possessions. The event was held at the Delia Derbyshire building, the arts faculty of Coventry University, on 29th November 2025.
As part of my role as Mothers Who Make Coventry facilitator, I was asked to shape the event alongside CVANWM director Colette Griffin, and DASH’s CEO Heather Peak, for which we sought to invite 10 speakers to share their homegrown collections, as a response to the Coventry Biennial thematic programme. As opposed to other MWMC events which are held for women and non-binary caregivers, this event opened out to the general public, inviting speakers of all ages, to present on a DIY Collection of their choice.
Photography by Sinéad Patching
The relaxed multi-generational gathering created space for artists, the public, family and community to connect through storytelling in relation to their collections and idiosyncratic ‘obsessions’. Daniel Reed, Michelle Le Blanc and Colin Odell, Paul Chokran, Rachel Doughty, Hannah Moreton, Janet Tryner, Martina Irwin, Bella, Erik and Remi shared an intriguing range of personal collections and creative passions from local gargoyles to prolific sketchbook practice, rust and patina in everyday objects, to asking: ‘What to take when moving to a new country?’. There were fossils, facts on Japan, playing with food, screws and washers, stone age tools, and Coventry’s very own Tree Sanctuary.
The publication was designed and produced by myself between November 2025 – March 2026 and printed by Mixam.
It is full colour, 36 pages printed on 100gsm recycled uncoated paper.
The cover is 250gsm. The book is staple-bound.
Limited to a print run of 100 copies.
The book is currently being distributed to zine libraries and collections – please get in touch with myself or DASH if you’d like a copy. My email is adelemreed@yahoo.co.uk. You can also view the publication digitally below.
