Explore your creativity and sense of belonging at a BELONGINGS embroidery workshop

What will happen in the workshops?

At the embroidery workshops, refugees, students, and people from our wider community will come together to work with students from the prestigious Royal School of Needlework to embroider an image, symbol or a word relating to their feeling about BELONGING onto a square cotton handkerchief. Each participant must come prepared with a drawn image or word in a chosen language which the students will help them transfer onto the 16-inch square handkerchief. The students will teach participants simple embroidery stitches and be there to assist with any difficulties as they sew their chosen image or word onto the cotton square.

At the end of each session, the embroidered handkerchiefs will become part of the BELONGINGS installation, displayed alongside it hanging on wires like ship’s flags. At the end of the project, the students running the workshop, will stitch the embroidered handkerchiefs onto a bell tent, which we hope to tour to new venues, collecting more images and words, and thus becoming an art object reflecting individual notions of BELONGING in words and images.

I don’t have experience with making art, can I still attend?
The workshop is open to all from any background, both beginners and experienced embroiderers are welcome. No experience of making art is required.

Do I need to bring anything to the workshop?
All equipment will be provided for the workshop, but if you can - please bring a simple hand drawn word or an image with you that reminds you of home which you will embroider in the workshop (maximum size of 7 inches/18 cms in any direction).

Workshop information

The workshops will take place on Friday 18 October 2024.
Workshop 1: 1100 – 1300 with option of sewing untutored until 1400
Workshop 2: 1400 – 1600 with option of sewing untutored until 1700

Reserve your place here.

The workshops will take place in The Arcade, Bush House, King’s College London.

 

About BELONGINGS

This event is taking place as part of the BELONGINGS exhibition and events programme at King’s College London. BELONGINGS is a new exhibition and events programme that challenges anti-asylum narratives and creates pathways to belonging with people seeking sanctuary. Read more about BELONGINGS here.

The programme is organised by Prof Hanna Kienzler, from King’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, in collaboration with artist Susan Aldworth, Prof Cornelius Katona, Dr Leonie Ansems de Vries, Dr Guntars Ermansons, and A&M Consultancy. It forms part of a new season from King’s Culture, Lost and Found: Stories of sanctuary and belonging. The programme builds on work by members of the Refugee Mental Health and Place Network at King’s and it is supported by the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health.

Accessibility information

For more information about access to the Arcade, please visit the AccessAble guide online. Please do not hesitate to contact us at csmh@kcl.ac.uk to further discuss any access requirements, arrangements for companions, or to find out more details about this event.