Connecting Threads: Weaving Bridges Across Communities
Who are The Westbury Fabric & Fibre Guild and what do they do?
The Westbury Fabric & Fibre Guild (WFFG) was established to create a community of crafters, providing opportunities for members to engage in their favourite crafts and learn new skills from one another.
The Guild aims to create a rich and varied program for both its members and the wider community through workshops, skill-share sessions, talks, open days, demonstrations, and exhibitions. Meetings are held every Thursday at Westbury Arts Centre, offering a welcoming space for crafters to connect and collaborate.
What support did Westbury Fabric & Fibre need?
Westbury Fabric & Fibre Guild (WFFG) needed support to plan and deliver joint textile art workshops in collaboration with the Middle Eastern Cultural Group.
This initiative aimed to host an exhibition showcasing the work created during these workshops, encouraging cross-cultural sharing of stories and stitch techniques. By facilitating these workshops and the subsequent exhibition, WFFCG hoped to enhance cultural understanding and creative exchange within the community.
What difference did the grant make?
The £2,960 Small Grant from MK Community Foundation made a significant difference by enabling members of both the Westbury Fabric and Fibre Guild (WFFG) and the Middle Eastern Cultural Group (MECG) to come together and learn new skills in textile design and surface decoration.
This collaboration allowed members to visit each other's meeting places, with many visiting the Westbury Arts Centre for the first time and expressing interest in future visits. WFFG members embraced Islamic design principles and even learned to write a few words in Arabic script. The participants were thrilled to see their work professionally presented in gallery spaces at Westbury Arts Centre and Milton Keynes Central Library.
This experience has built a solid foundation for future collaboration, creating a sense of mutual respect between the groups.
Vicki, Workshop Participant:
“I’d never done Batik before and loved it; it was exciting to see the group display of batiks at the library and to point out which one was mine to friends who have never seen that side of me. And then the evening of readings in English and Arabic was such an uplifting experience. It is hard to describe, but it felt like a very gentle but positive shift in consciousness.”
The garment "Collected Memories" will be showcased at this year's Festival of Quilts at the NEC from August 1-4.
Additionally, the entire exhibition, "Connecting Threads," will be on display at MK Central Library throughout December 2024.
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MK Community Foundation