This November, local people are being invited to help make a community quilt about parenting past, present and future in Keynsham.
It is all part of a new art project called It Takes A Village, which has been created by local artist Isobel Tarr and funded with a Community Grant from the Keynsham Local Cultural Programme. This is part of the Keynsham High Street Heritage Action Zone, funded jointly by Bath and North East Somerset Council and Historic England.
Across the summer, Isobel has been bringing together networks of local parents to share their personal experiences of being parents in Keynsham, focusing on themes of isolation and mutual support. Older people and parents from different cultural backgrounds have also been reflecting on their own parenting journeys.
Snippets of their conversations are being stitched into a large hexagonal quilt which has been collaboratively produced by participants young and elder.
On 5 November, the first section of the quilt will be exhibited in Keynsham Leisure Centre Café. Members of the public are being invited to view what has been created so far, and to add their own memories and messages to the quilt.
More experienced crafters are encouraged to come along and get involved in piecing the quilt together, learning a new quilting technique with local textile artist Sharne Tasney.
Isobel Tarr, explaining the idea behind the project, said, “I had a baby in Keynsham in December 2020. I was new to the town, I didn’t know anybody here and almost no one saw my baby until he was three months old. One of the first people to see him was an elderly resident in Keynsham Memorial Park who commented sadly, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. I went online and found as many local mums as I could who wanted to meet regularly in the park to support each other and socialise our babies.
“Our expanding quilt is a metaphor for knitting together the social fabric that once held babies and parents, and indeed all of us, more tightly in the community. It Takes a Village provides hope that we could revive and renew this social fabric.”
Once the quilt has been completed, it is programmed to go on display in Temple Street, before being exhibited in the wider area.
Workshop details:
- When: Saturday 5th November, 9.30am – 1pm (drop in any time)
- Where: Keynsham Leisure Centre Cafe, Temple Street, Keynsham, BS31 1HE
- Facilities: Soft play, disabled toilet, accessible parking, ramp access
- Who for: People and children of all ages and abilities, parents and non-parents welcome
- More information: https://www.hikeynsham.co.uk/event/it-takes-a-village/
- Enquiries: email hidden; JavaScript is required