Colour4CRAFTS brings international textile expertise together at KIK-IRPA

Funded under the EU Horizon Europe programme (Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive society), the Colour4CRAFTS project brings together expertise on traditional dyes and textile dyeing to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for the future of bio-based dyes, using cutting-edge technology.

Colour4CRAFTS combines a multidisciplinary team of experts from research institutes and R&D companies to carry out studies of bio-based textile colouration from a traditional historic perspective and in combination with cutting-edge technologies of colourants biosynthesis and waterless applications techniques.

The Colour4CRAFTS project consortium consists of members from five different countries and six research institutions.

In December 2025, over three days, research teams from the Universities of Helsinki, Leeds, Tartu and Lapland, the company Pili and KIK-IRPA met to discuss progress across the project’s work packages.

The programme also included visits to KIK-IRPA’s Textiles and Radiocarbon Dating Labs, conservation workshops, and the Flemish tapestry collection at the Art & History Museum.

The meeting was a great success, marked by stimulating discussions, promising collaborations and shared enthusiasm for the next stages of the project.