Thursday, 28 March 2024

Event Details

The Body Wisdom Group of Echo Echo Dance Theatre
Company dancing the 'Cueca Sola' against the backdrop of arpilleras, accompanied by Chilean musician Victor Henriquez on guitar. (Photo: Elsie Doolan)

The Body Wisdom Group of Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company dancing the 'Cueca Sola' against the backdrop of arpilleras, accompanied by Chilean musician Victor Henriquez on guitar. (Photo: Elsie Doolan)

 

Exhibition and associated activities:Embracing Human Rights: Conflict Textiles’ Journey
Description: This exhibition marks 12 years of Conflict Textiles exhibitions and associated activities in a variety of local and international venues. Conflict and human rights abuses, explored through the tactile medium of textiles have remained a central theme in all of these events.

The collaboration with Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre and Museum Service Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council (CCGBC) has its roots in a two-phase exhibition "Stitching and Unstitching the Troubles", (SUTT) 2012-2013 (Northern Ireland Community Archive), which culminated in SUTT II: Exploring Responses to Conflict Through Textile Art, 2013-2014. This was followed in 2016 with Stitched Legacies of Conflicts and, more recently in 2018 War-Torn Children.

“Embracing Human Rights: Conflict Textiles' journey” incorporates textiles from a variety of jurisdictions, created in different decades, which connect to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and which address two key questions:
1. What is the impact of, and response to, human rights violations?
2. How can we embed a culture of human rights?

The exhibition spans an eight-month period, beginning with a small selection of textiles and memorabilia in the Ritter Gallery, 9th January, 2020. The full exhibition, occupying all the RVACC exhibition galleries, commences with the official launch at 2pm on Saturday 7th March, and extends to 31st July 2020. Throughout the entire exhibition period there will be a range of associated activities (p2), which will allow participants to engage with the central exhibition questions.
Exhibition launch photos (RVACC)

A number of associated activities were postponed due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. In light of this the exhibition will be hosted online at Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre for a limited period. Virtual guided tours are scheduled for 16th June, 30th June and 6th July (see documents section below). The online exhibition page also includes a section Associated Activities for all Ages.

The Arpillera Doll Exhibition (hosted online by RVACC for a limited period) launched on 21st April, evolved from an open invitation issued from the Associated Activities for all Ages section Make your own arpillera doll. To augment the process, we issued the invitation to arpilleristas/makers whose pieces featured in the exhibition, to collectors who lent us pieces, to those who came to the exhibition launch on 7th March and to a wider cohort of people closely connected to Conflict Textiles.

In a further extension to the programme, in partnership with RVACC and the Bogside and Brandywell Initiative’s Peace Walls Programme, Roberta Bacic worked remotely with Kyra Reynolds, Development Worker, Triax Neighbourhood Management Team. A group of women from the Triax area of Derry/Londonderry engaged in a cross community textile arts project exploring human rights violations and created arpillera dolls in response. The Triax Arpillera Dolls Exhibition (hosted online by RVACC until 17th July 2021) was the outcome of this engagement. For a reflection on the outcome, see documents section below ‘Triax Arpillera Dolls article, K.Reynolds '21’. The article titled "Derry Dolls: A Return to Textiles… with a Twist" can also be accessed on Stitched Voices Blog.
Commissioned by: Conflict Textiles
Date(s): 9th January 2020 - 31st July 2020
Venue: Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Limavady, Northern Ireland
Roe Valley Arts and Heritage Centre, 24 Main Street Limavady, Northern Ireland. BT49 0FJ
Curator: Roberta Bacic and Breege Doherty
Facilitator: Desima Connolly & Esther Alleyne, CCGBC
Outcome: Following a well attended onsite launch, the exhibition programme moved online during COVID restrictions. The successful transition to online engagement with a range of target groups was facilitated by a strong partnership and collaboration between Conflict Textiles and RVACC.
The range of outputs: guided tours, online Arpillera Dolls exhibition and Triax Arpillera Dolls is testimony to the commitment of all stakeholders to successfully adapt planned activities to the online environment using digital technologies. Overall, this has seeded new connections and built strong foundations for future collaborations with RVACC.




Documents: • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) - view
• UDHR (Illustrated version) - view
• Textile list: RVACC, 2020 - view
• (ARTE, Dec 2019), UDHR poster. - view
• Exhibition poster: RVACC, Jan 2020 - view
• Exhibition catalogue: RVACC, Jan 2020 - view
• RVACC programme Jan-Mar 2020 (see p11-12) - view
• RVACC programme: Exhibition p11 - 12 - view
• Exhibition launch invitation, 7th Mar 2020 - view
• Textile captions linked to UDHR articles - view
• Exhibition bookmark: RVACC, Mar 2020 - view
• Exhibition flyer: RVACC, Mar 2020 - view
• Exhibition poster: RVACC, Mar 2020 - view
• Photo gallery: Exhibition launch, 7 Mar. 2020 - view
• Poster: Arpillera Doll virtual exhibition - view
• Invitation letter: virtual exhibition, 21Apr - view
• Poster: Virtual guided tour, 30 June 2020 - view
• Virtual tour: Refugee Buddy project, 16th Jun - view
• Film screening: Refugee Buddy Project, 19 Jun - view
• Slides: Virtual guided tour, 30 June/6 July - view
• Guided tour, 30 June: Thank you/further info. - view
• Triax Arpillera Dolls article, K.Reynolds '21 - view
 




Textiles Displayed:POSAR FIL A L'AGULLA / Hands On: An arpillera made out of commitment
Vida en Nuestra Población / Life in Our Poor Neighbourhood
Peace Quilt - Common Loss
Landmines
Ônde estão nossos direitos? / Where are our rights?
Marcha de las mujeres de los mineros
Ausencias - Presencias 2 / Absences – Presences 2
Nos hacen falta / We miss them
Reflections on violence
Irene, Marta, Hilda, Patricia: Now and Always Present
La Cueca Sola / Dancing Cueca alone
2016 Starvation in Zimbabwe
Libertad a los presos políticos / Freedom for the political prisoners
Retorno/Return
Legacy of Tyrants / El legado de los tiranos
Cimarrón / Runaway slave
Mi Guernica / My Gernika
LA BODA DE MI HIJA / My daughter’s wedding
Escuelita de Otavalo / Otavalo Primary School
They Fell like Stars from the Sky / Cayeron del cielo como estrellas
Represión a los Mapuche / Repression of the Mapuche
No tenemos acceso a los servicios públicos / We have no access to public services
Paro de los estudiantes' chilenos 2 / Chilean students' strike 2
En el lado “bueno” de la valla 2 / On the “Good" Side of the Fence 2
No más contaminación / No more pollution