Launch of Rathlin Arpillera

Tuesday 23 August 2011

There was a very successful launch recently of the island's arpillera project in the Manor House.

The project had involved the work of several island residents over a period of months, and was guided by the work of Roberta Bacic, the Curator of Textiles in the Verbal Arts Centre, Derry.

Arpilleras are a south American visual art form much used by the women of Chile, and is a way of telling their stories in pictures rather than the written word. Continuing with the Rathlin Quilt theme, the women designed and sewed ten panels which depict island life and stories both past and present.

The launch featured music and song from Michael and Frances Black as well as their niece Roisin, and a few words by Community Development Worker David Quinney Mee and Paddy Burns and Gusty McCurdy. Many thanks to all who came along, and of course thanks and congratulations to all those who took part in the project itself.