COMMUNITY
Making a community textile brings different people together to tell of who they are and what they care about. People can talk as they sew, sharing experiences, debating local issues, making friendships. Community sewing generates a sense of belonging: each person witnessing how their small contribution can make a difference. And when collective community textiles are unveiled and displayed, when they are shown in public, people applaud what has been achieved. For many participants it is the first time their sewing skills have been admired. For most it is the first time their sewing has had a social value.
Glimpses of Glasgow was created as part of the city's celebrations as European City of Culture in 1990. In the marbeled halls of the Gasgow's Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery people of all ages were encouraged to sew a six inch square that captured something of a city they held dear. Residents and visitors, took up the challenge enthusiastically. Before long, there were hundreds of squares, enough to make six wall hangings, each block containing a small slice of Glasgow life. The city's humour and heritage, fashion and football, shopping and socialism are sewn side by side in a stitched democracy of Glaswegians' view of home.