A Festival of Creativity, Organised by Craftspace.

Graduates from around the country were invited to design a creative activity, which collaborated with the public and related to the historical heritage of the Cathedral Square in Birmingham.

I took a weaving loom and invited the public to write their wishes and dreams onto ribbons of sari silk. These were then woven by the public into an open weave cloth, which was to be hung in Cathedral Square. I also hand spun wool on a spinning wheel and this yarn was also woven into the cloth. My intent was to reference the historical significance of the wool trade in Birmingham’s medieval past and the various ethnic communities who live in Birmingham today.

The public loved to see the equipment associated with spinning and weaving. It brought back memories of family histories and Britain’s industrial heritage of cloth making. I was also told of villages in India, where the tradition of handwoven cloth used to be part of everyday life.

At the end of the day, the cloth filled with ribbons of wishes and dreams was hung like a prayer flag, in a tree in Cathedral Square.