Good Relations Week textiles exhibition

Created in collaboration with Conflict Textiles Collection curators, Roberta Bacic and Breege Doherty, the exhibition and virtual tour invites you to explore the journey from conflict through the fragility of peace to the need to work collectively for a better tomorrow.

The virtual tour and discussion will take place on International Day of Peace, Monday, September 21 at 11am via Zoom, and is open to all.

Through the tactile medium of textiles such as quilts and brightly coloured patchwork known as arpilleras created in different decades both locally and around the world, you will be inspired to reflect on the path towards a sustainable peace, and what collective actions we can all take to secure our shared future.

Roberta Bacic said: “The textiles have multiple layers of stories and experiences to relate.

“They draw us in with their bright colours and cute little figures and then, on second glance, we see the oppression, the atrocities, the struggles, the solidarity and the journeys that they document and commemorate.”

Highlighting that the tactile nature of the textiles makes them very accessible, Breege Doherty explains: “As we reflect on the time and care the arpilleristas expended in documenting their experiences with needle, thread and recycled fabric, it invites us to ponder on the care and time, often unacknowledged, that women have invested in working for peace.”

The exhibition will run from September 14 to October 31 and can be accessed by visiting Conflict Textiles online at the CAIN Conflict Archive https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/conflicttextiles/events/.

If you would like to attend the virtual tour on September 21, please email [email protected].

A further event will take place on October 2 to mark International Day of Non Violence. Contact Bebhinn McKinley for more information.