Cultural Stories in Textiles exhibition at Harpur's Hill

The exhibition brings together arpilleras and quilts created by communities all over the world, including Ireland.

Arpilleras are a traditional textile craft of Latin America that developed in response to times of violence or conflict.

Through them women found a way to express the hurt, anger and despair within their community and share experiences that are difficult to communicate in words. They also show scenes of everyday life and their ways to approach what was going on .

Cultural Stories in Textiles shows how textiles and domestic craft can be used as a means to express ordinary people’s responses to events that surround them.

Arpilleras from Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico are displayed alongside textile pieces from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Panama and Ireland. Every piece of work tells a story of a maker, makers, communities and histories. There are stories of despair, anger and hurt, but also of kinship, hope and courage.

The pieces dissolve boundaries of language and culture, communicating stories of real life experiences to others. They provide us with opportunities to relate to other cultures, traditions and histories, as well as reflect on our own experiences as individuals and communities.

The exhibition opens on Thursday, February 25 and continues until 2pm on Saturday, February 27. Everyone is welcome to drop in and there will be regular guided tours of the exhibition.

The programme includes a number of special workshops for local schools and community groups, including one led by Healing Through Remembering exploring the arts as a medium for encouraging community dialogue and reconciliation.

The exhibition has been organised by Crafts with Love, a voluntary organisation working with both traditional and modern styles of crafting to explore and develop cross community interaction and diversity. It is curated by Roberta Bacic, originally from Chile, but now living in Benone, who has exhibited traditional and contemporary textiles internationally.