About
Ophelia Dos Santos is Welsh textile artist and researcher based in Cardiff, South Wales. Viewing the world through textiles, Ophelia’s work considers the relationships between fabric, culture and communities. By patching together discarded scraps, she aims to open and inform dialogue around climate justice and equality, the over-consumption and waste of the modern-day fashion industry.
Collaborating with communities, Ophelia focuses on skill sharing as a powerful tool to explore the complexities of climate change, driving participation and action. Facilitating workshops with local charities and organisations, she demonstrates how simple embroidery techniques can be used to mend and reinvent fabric. Learning to sew is a purposeful activity, that can bring people of different age groups, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds together – giving people the ability to build confidence and practical life skills.
Awards
Black History Wales, Visual Arts award 2024-2025.
Creative Step funding by the Arts Council of Wales, 2024.
Green Goal Award by Bussiness in Focus, funded by the UK Government's Community Renewal Fund, 2022.
Young Change Maker Award by Plan UK, 2022.
Project Manager
At Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel. Leading on developing and managing Kumbukumbu and Jamii 2 programmes, projects, activities, its staff and events. Jamii 2 project aims to bring about positive health-based changes for African diaspora communities in Wales following Covid- 19. Kumbukumbu (‘Memories’) Project aims to provide a structural renewal of heritage, going beyond the sharing of diverse histories, to explore WHO are the storytellers and HOW stories are communicated. 2024
Research Associate
Stories on the Edge of Memory: Connection through narrative and place using TalkOver technology. This project uses innovative digital technology TalkOver to explore and preserve the stories of Tiger Bay— Wales’ oldest multi-ethnic community. Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2024.
Curator
Curator of 'Where is Away?' exhibtion, for GS Artists. This exhibition considered the journey of discarded clothing, fabric and other textiles from Wales to countries in the global South. This exhibition explored threads that connect our colonial past to the contemporary textile industries waste crisis. 2024 https://www.instagram.com/p/C8eT0_WoxCP/?img_index=1
Project Officer
Project Officer at the Glamorgan Archives. Supporting the delivery of the creation of a research guide to sources for the study of Minority Ethnic history. The project is funded through the Welsh Government’s Anti Racist Wales Culture Heritage and Sport Fund and supports delivery of its Anti-Racist Action Plan. 2023-2024
Producer
Producer and narrator of the short documentary film 'Moving to Make It'. This follows my dilemma as a Welsh creative, will I leave Wales to pursue my career? BBC TWO Wales, It's My Shout Productions, 2021.
New Voices from Wales, Ep 2: https://vimeo.com/918294276
Workshop Collaborations
University College London
South Riverside Community Development Centre
Women Seeking Sanctuary Advocacy Group Wales
Welsh Centre for International Affairs
Women Connect First
Wales Millennium Centre
Ways of Working
National Museum Wales / Amgueddfa Cymru
Bloedd AC
Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel
Jukebox Collective
WWF Cymru
Talk To Coco
HUB Cymru Africa
Size of Wales
Arts Active
Made in Roath / Aurora Trinity Centre
Back to Basics (Kenya)
Coleg Gwent
Joshua Jones and Bryn Deri Primary School
Swansea University
Principality Building Society
Green Soul Cardiff
NU Life Furniture
Peak Cymru
Fairtrade Wales
GS Artists
Speaking
Speaker at Future Dyfodol Diwylliant yng Nghymru / Future of Culture in Wales, Future Generations Commission for Wales, 2023.
Keynote speaker at Cardiff Community and Climate Connect event, co-hosted by Green Squirrel and Carbon Copy, 2023.
Speaker for NaturPonty Podcast, 2023.
Speaker at Climate Justice Coalition rally, 2022.
Speaker at Size of Wales' Climate and Gender event, 2022.
Speaker at Oxfam's Second Hand September Event, 2022.
Co-host of Welsh, Gifted and Black podcast, 2022.
Chair of The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion Event, hosted by The Sustainable Studio and Pluto Press. 2022.
Panel of Fair Trade Wales: Fair Fashion? A Conversation on Fashion, Race and Climate Justice. 2022.
Panel of Sustainable Fashion: The Independent Perspective. 2022.
Panel of FOOTPRINTS Digital Festival: Moving on From Fast Fashion. National Museum Wales, 2021.
Panel of Histories of Making During States of Emergency, 2021.
Words
'Are you the consumer or the product? The TikTok to Truman Show pipeline' for Shado Magazine, 2022.
Exhibit
'Where is Away?' Group Exhibtion, GS Artists, 2024.
Made in Roath Open Exhibition at g39, 2023.
Shado Re-imagination Exhibit, 2022.
Welsh, Gifted and Black, Black Joy Exhibition, Cardiff, 2022.
OPHELIA DOS SANTOS x VANS, Vans Store, Cardiff, 2022.
Ways of Working Exhibit, Welsh Millennium Centre, 2022.
SUNDAZE Exhibit by Jukebox Collective, Cardiff, 2021.
LOOPHOLES, Craft Central, London, 2021.
FOR CARDIFF online exhibit, Creatives of the Capital, 2021.
ARTS THREAD online showcase, Take Back Black Friday, 2019.
The Old Street Gallery, London, 2019.
The Castle Emporium, Cardiff, 2019.
Bath Spa Graduate Exhibit, Bath, 2019.
China Academy of Art Graduate Show, Shanghai, 2018.
Education & Training
Creative Agent Training by Arts Council Wales, 2022.
Equal Power Equal Voice mentoring by EYST, WEN, Stonewall Cymru and Disability Wales, 2022.
Child Safeguarding by Children in Wales, 2020.
BA Textile Design for Fashion and Interiors, Bath Spa University, 2019.
