The Burton is celebrating Bideford Pride this year by creating a collaborative banner – and we need your help!
This is an Open Call for submissions of fabric squares, sized 20cm x 20cm. We will be making the Progress Pride flag, and are asking for blocks which feature the following as its main colour: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet. The arrow depicting the transgender and intersectionality colours will be completed by our Sewing Bee group.
We invite you to be creative on your block, through embroidery, applique, patchwork, fabric pens or printing. The blocks will then be sewn together to create a large banner to be displayed during the parade at Bideford Pride on 31 May.
So that we can get ensure an even spread of colours, we ask that you let us know through this Google form which colour you intend to submit. You are welcome to submit more than one! Please bring your completed block(s) to The Burton by 25 April at the latest.
If you are a sewist, this is a good opportunity to use up scraps of fabric you’ve got in your stash. If you don’t have a stash, why not use some of those old clothes you haven’t worn for years? This is a good exercise in repurposing fabric and reducing waste.
If you have never sewn before and would like to get involved, you are welcome to join us on a Tuesday afternoon at the Sewing Bee. This is a friendly group of sewists who will help you put together your block. Drop in at any time between 1pm–3pm – the group is free to attend.
We are also running two textile art workshops with tutor Franca Westaway teaching Batik and Tie Dye (15 March) and Applique and Stitch (22 March) for anyone who would like to learn or improve their sewing skills.
The history of Pride and patchwork
There is a deep history between Pride and patchwork, most importantly perhaps in the AIDS Memorial Quilt. This began in 1985, after human rights activist Cleve Jones realised that the placards memorialising men lost to AIDS during a candlelit vigil in San Francisco looked like a quilt. He formed a group who wanted to create a memorial to those lost to AIDS. They decided to each create a textile block in memory of their lost loved ones, and the Memorial Quilt was born.
Today, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is an epic quilt that would cover the area of the National Mall in Washington DC if it was laid out. It includes nearly 50,000 panels dedicated to more than 110,000 individuals, and submissions continue to roll in. You can learn more about it and view the interactive digital display on the US National AIDS Memorial website.
Rather than a banner of memorialisation, our banner will celebrate love in all its forms. We look forward to receiving your block!
