Whole Cloth project shares stories of new Americans

 

The Whole Cloth project will host an exhibit and two public events this month in both Littleton and Keene that highlight the stories and the fiber art of immigrant women living in New Hampshire and invite Granite Staters to explore their own immigration stories. The project is funded through a grant from the Humanities Council's three-year initiative, Fences & Neighbors: New Hampshire's Immigration Stories.

Whole Cloth was created by Rubia's Sewing Confidence program in partnership with the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire, Currier Museum Community Programs, and the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Through sewing and literacy workshops, the project is collecting personal histories, teaching functional literacy and economic self-sufficiency, and illuminating the immigrant experience, particularly among Burundi women, by creating a traveling exhibit of personal narratives, native fabrics, and interactive demonstrations.

This free exhibit will be on display at the Village Book Store in Littleton through October 14 and at the Keene Public Library from October 15 to October 29. Three panels depict the journeys of resettled Burundian refugee women, describing their flight from the 1994 Burundian/Rwandan genocide, through their years in refugee camps in Tanzania, to their lives in Manchester and their participation in Rubia's Sewing Confidence program. On Tuesday, October 4 a Whole Cloth Presentation will take place at the Littleton Studio School at 6:30 p.m. An additonal presentation will be held at Heberton Hall in Keene on Thursday, October 27 at 7 p.m. Burundian women will tell the stories of their journeys from Africa to New Hampshire and talk about their hopes for the future and their work as seamstresses blending African textiles and western styles.

Swatch Book Workshops will be held on Friday, October 14. at the Littleton Studio School at 6:30 p.m. and at the Keene Public Library on Saturday, October 29 at 2 p.m. A swatch book is a traditional textile sample book. Participants will create their own page of photos, scraps of cloth and other mementos and write a short narrative that tells their own or their ancestors' story about coming to the United States. Participants can bring materials from home, or use the supplementary materials provided. This guided activity is open to all teens and adults - no need for craft or art experience! Participants will bring their creations home and have the option of scanning their pages into the online NH Swatch Book. See examples at www.sewingconfidence.org. Space in the workshops is limited. Register at for the Littleton Swatch Book Workshop by calling 444-1099 and for Keene at 352-0157.

Programs in the Whole Cloth project are available to community organizations throughout the state. To learn how to bring a program to your community, contact Frumie Selchen at 323-7302 or artsalliancennh@cs.com. For more information on the Whole Cloth project, visit the Whole Cloth page of the Rubia website.