Erewash Museum, August 2025 – Stitching Peace, Celebration, and Community
In August 2025, Bunting for Peace invited visitors to Erewash Museum to come together in a simple, joyful act of making. Inspired by the spirit of 1945 street parties and the “make do and mend” ethos, the project transformed reclaimed fabrics into a shared celebration of peace, created by the community, for the community.
Through stitching, tying and conversation, visitors reflected on what celebration means today, contributing their own stories, thoughts and memories into a growing collective artwork.
The Project
Developed during my time as Artist in Residence throughout August, the project unfolded across the museum, spilling beyond the Old Tea Rooms into the garden to reach as many visitors as possible.
Workshops were informal, free, and drop-in, allowing visitors to take part in their own time, whether pausing to tie a ribbon, sitting down to stitch, or joining from the garden mid-play. Families, children and older visitors worked side by side, sharing skills, stories and ideas. Participants could contribute through simple rag bunting – an intuitive, no-sew activity – or by creating embroidered and appliqué flags that captured personal reflections and memories.
Participants were encouraged to respond to simple prompts: What does celebration look like to you? and What brings people together? Each flag was self-designed, giving participants full creative agency in shaping the final piece.
What We Created
- 40+ metres of community-created bunting
- 200+ individual flags
- Contributions from 120+ participants (aged 5–71)
From cakes and parties to family, friendship and meaningful memories, each piece captured a unique perspective, together forming a living archive of community voice.
Impact
Community as Creators – Participants shaped the work through their own designs, stories, and decisions, becoming authors of the final piece.
Connection – The project created space for intergenerational exchange, with making acting as a bridge between ages and experiences. Providing space for intergeneration sharing and learning.
Access – Drop-in, no-experience sessions encouraged spontaneous participation and creative confidence. Encouraging those who had never seen themselves as creative being able to explore a new skill.
Sustainability – Reclaimed materials connected environmental awareness with historic practices of resourcefulness.
Legacy
The bunting debuted at the Museums’ War Time Variety Show (29 August 2025) and continues to have a life within the museum.
- A section is featured in From Gas Masks to Garden Parties on display until August 2026
- Elements contribute to the museum’s ongoing community storytelling and interpretation
- Designed for reuse at future events, after its use as the War Time Variety Show, the rag bunting continues to make an appearance on high days and holidays and should last well into the future.
Reflection
What made Bunting for Peace so powerful was not just what was created, but what it enabled. For many participants, this was a first step into creativity. People who arrived saying “I’m not artistic” left having made something they were proud of, discovering confidence through simple, supported acts of making.
The project created space for genuine intergenerational exchange. Children as young as six sat alongside adults and older visitors, learning to stitch, share ideas, and contribute equally. Skills were passed on, but so were stories, local memories, family traditions, and reflections on celebration that might otherwise go unheard.
Seeing their work displayed within the museum gave participants a powerful sense of ownership and recognition. Their contributions were not temporary activities, but part of a lasting, public artwork, valued within a cultural space.
Each flag became more than decoration; it became a voice. Together, the bunting represents a collective expression of confidence, creativity, and community, showing that everyone has something meaningful to contribute.
Every Stitch A Story 