Women Assemble — I-W-D Banner
2025 · The Minories Gallery, Colchester
A collaborative textile project that brought together women from across Colchester to produce the Suffolk puff quilted banner 'I-W-D' for International Women's Day.
The Women Assemble project grew out of a simple idea: that making together is a form of solidarity. Over several workshop sessions held at The Minories Gallery, participants of all skill levels joined to create a large-scale textile banner using the Suffolk puff technique — circular gathered fabric pieces joined to form a flowing, organic composition.
The process was as important as the outcome. Sessions were open, welcoming, and focused on the shared experience of creating something meaningful. Participants brought their own stories, their own fabric scraps, and their own reasons for being there.
The finished banner — spelling out 'I-W-D' in bold textile relief — was displayed as part of the International Women's Day celebrations at The Minories Gallery in March 2025, becoming a centrepiece of the exhibition and a symbol of collective creativity.
Being part of this project reminded me that art doesn't have to be solitary. Making together is its own kind of power.— Workshop participant