In this visual essay, I will discuss the healing benefits of participatory needlework in the context of cultural environments. This will also highlight the role of the female figure in the preservation of intangible heritage and cultural identity.
I will base my arguments on the community project I ran following the invasion of Ukraine. This began as a support group, Ariadne’s Thread, for local Ukrainian women including refugees arriving under the government’s ‘Home for Ukraine’ scheme. The needlework was a large-scale cross stitch reproduction of a painting by the celebrated folk artist Maria Prymachenko. The aim was to produce a symbol of cultural resistance whilst providing a therapeutic outlet and motivation to a community in crisis. In an effort to offer access to culture within a diverse community I organised workshops and installed our embroidery table at local museums and galleries where the public was invited to join in. The collective embroidery practice proved to be successfully used as ‘an inclusive tool and a form of non-verbal communication’ (Hackney & Setterington, 2022). These events were fundamental to the development of our work, and to the individual experience of the participants. The Who Cares? Museums, Health and Wellbeing Research Programme (2009-11) demonstrated that cultural encounters give a sense of inclusion, a feeling of belonging (Chatterjee & Noble 2013). A study conducted by Culture Unlimited (Wood, 2008) outlined benefits including moral values, optimism and hope, beliefs, resilience, support, rest, sanctuary, relationships, using and improving skills, self-esteem, etc...(Chatterjee & Noble, 2013).
Our local initiative soon became a global collaboration with refugees stitching smaller parts across Europe, and eventually developed into a programme of community integration tapestry projects. The practice focused on the wellbeing of women and children separated from their homeland and native culture, highlighting the message of unity and hope.
