“We Are Stitching a Forest for COP26”
Giant Latin-American environmental mural to be displayed at Exeter Street Hall
From Sunday 24 to Wednesday 27 October a giant hand-stitched environmental mural, created by a multi-country women’s collective from Latin America, will be on display at Brighton’s Exeter Street Hall.
Zurciendo el Planeta (‘Darning the Planet’) has brought together 150 women from Argentina, Mexico, Chile and elsewhere to create the forest-themed mural – a 25 square metre installation created from over 130 tree embroideries stitched on re-used fabrics. It comes to Brighton on its way to be shown in Glasgow at COP26.
Mexico-based collective member Dora Napolitano, who used to live in the Prestonville area of Brighton, wanted to show the mural at the community hall where she once volunteered. Alongside the mural there will be a short video about the work of the collective and the climate crisis. There will also be an opportunity for on-site participation, where people can help create a large tree themed embroidery, set up on a vintage French sewing frame.
From 2pm on Sunday 24 October there will be an opening event at which Dora will speak about the collective and the project, which has been carried out in collaboration with Trees for Life, and explain what they hope to do at COP26.
Susan Corlett, Exeter Street Hall Manager, said, “We’re delighted to be able to put on this exhibition at the Hall. It has both global significance and, through Dora, a local connection. We hope lots of people in the community will come along, see the mural and help create another part of it before it goes on to Glasgow.”
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Further information:
The collective: http://www.zurciendoelplaneta.org/colectiva (mostly in Spanish but Google Translate does a decent job)
Trees for Life: https://www.earth-art-studio.com/trees-for-life.html
Since 2013, when it was bought from the local church, Exeter Street Hall has been owned and run by members of the Prestonville community. It runs its own events and is hired out to a wide variety of groups that put on classes and activities; during the recent lockdowns it was used to prepare meals for vulnerable people. https://exeterstreethall.org Tel: 01273 561149
Dora Napolitano [email protected] and 07506 040042 (mobile number will work from 23rd October)