Stitching Solidarity: Artists for Palestine

Ka ū mai te paraikete Stitching Solidarity ki Ngāmotu mai i te 31 o Poutū-te-rangi – 6 o Paenga-whāwhā, i tana whīkoi tonu i te motu.

Ka tuituia ngā takohanga o ngā ringatoi huri noa i Aotearoa ki rō Stitching Solidarity hei whakamana i te kotahitanga ki ngā iwi o Parihitini. Ka kapohia e te paraikete nei te pukuriri ki ngā mahi whakatumatuma i Kāha me te takiwā o West Bank, waihoki ko te tūmanako ia kia pūmau te tika, te pono me te mana motuhake.

Nā ngā tikanga whakamahi matū i āhei ai ngā ringatoi ki te whakatairanga i ngā āhuatanga tōrangapū, ki te tangi ki te hunga i hinga i te kino, i te muru, me te pupuru tonu ki te hapori, mā te whakawhanaunga. E tāmaua ana te whakatonu i tēnei tikanga whakahau i te tōrangapū mā te tuitui paraikete, ā, neke atu i te 100 ringatoi i takoha i ngā wāhanga matū o te paraikete, whāia ana te whakaaturanga i Te Whanganui-a-Tara, i Ōtepoti, i Ōtautahi, i Porirua hoki. He tikanga tupu tēnei, arā, ka rāhiritia tonutia ngā wāhanga matū i ngā ringatoi, i te whīkoi tonu a te paraikete i tana whīkoi.

Ka rāhiri atu te whakaaturanga i Ngāmotu nei i te whakaaro nui ki te haepapa o ngā ringatoi me ngā whare whakairi toi ki te whāriki i te kōrero tērā pea kāore i te kōrerohia i ngā wāhi tāone. Ko te whāinga ki te whakanui i te kāhui tikanga auaha kia āhei ki te tangi tahi, ki te aroha tahi, ki te kōrero tahi me te tū tahi i ngā hapori, i waho atu hoki i hōna tongi.

Stitching Solidarity brings together contributions from artists across Aotearoa in an offering of solidarity with the people of Palestine. The quilt captures an expression of outrage at the ongoing violence in Gaza and the West Bank, and hope for a future built on justice and self-determination.

Textile-based practice has long provided a means for artists to express political commitments, mourn for those lost to violence or negligence, and sustain community among peers and allies. Drawing upon and seeking to extend this tradition of politically motivated quilt-making, over 100 artists have contributed patches to the quilt, following presentations in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Ōtepoti, Ōtautahi and Porirua. As an unfolding project, patches continue to be invited from artists as the quilt continues its journey.

The quilt’s presentation in Ngāmotu provides an invitation to gather and consider the role artists and art galleries can have in holding space for conversations that may not be happening in other civic spaces. It seeks to affirm the capacity of creative practice to enable shared mourning, aroha, kōrero and solidarity within communities and across borders.

Stitching Solidarity: Artists for Palestine, installation view at Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, 2024. Photo: Cheska Brown.

Stitching Solidarity includes contributions from:
Cora Allan, Misma Anaru, Hana Pera Aoake, Raewyn Atkinson, Catherine Barriga, Emily Barr, Cassandra Barnett, Antonia Barnett-McIntosh, Rachel Blackburn, Megan Brady, Stella Brennan, Liz Breslin, Heidi Brickell, Georgette Brown, Ruth Buchanan, Tehani Buchanan, Marta Buda, Wai Ching Chan, Ruth Cleland, Samuel Mark Clyma, Hamish Coleman, Jess Covell, Lynda Cullen, Judy Darragh, Jordan Davey-Emms, Caitlin Rose Donnelly, Emma Fitts, Marilyn Garson, Mary Grant, Diana Albarran Gonzalez, Jane Groufsky, Turumeke Harrington, Emily Hartley-Skudder, Bronwyn Holloway-Smith, Sarah Hudson, Jay Hutchinson, Christine Hutt, Ana Iti, Claudia Jowitt, A.K., Madison Kelly, Mototo Kikkawa, Divyaa Kumar, Etanah Lalau-Talapa, Jungeun Lee, Rozana Lee, Desi Liversage, Bronwyn Lloyd, Bailee Lobb, Andrea Low, Hannah & Kirsty McLay, Sophie McDonagh, Caroline McQuarrie, Raewyn Martyn, Lucy Meyle, Simone Michaux, Judy Millar, Cynthia Morahan-Drennen, Bev Moon, Katherine Morrison, Mya Morrison-Middleton, Anna Muirhead, Bell Murphy, Ngāpuhi Aunties, Aroha Novak, Rowan Panther, Charlotte Parallel, Steven Park, Monica Paterson, Pōneke Community: Micro Mill, Kelly Pretty & Michelle Mayn, Ahilapalapa Rands, Ming Ranginui, Natasha Ratuva, Ed Ritchie, Deborah Rundle, Penny Sage, Pippa Sanderson, Emily Siddell, Huhana Smith, Sorawit Songsataya, Keva Stanley, Kate Stevens West, Olivia Stewart, Imogen Taylor, Melanie Tahata, Malak Tamimi, Terri Te Tau, Luhama Taualupe, Zoe Thompson-Moore, Luisa Tora, Kathry Tsui, Puipui Maya Turei, Naomi van den Broek, Arielle Walker, Whiro Walker, G. Watson, Harry Were, Te Kira Whakamoe,  Annelies Windmill, O. H. J. Wilson, Georgina May Young.

This project was conceived by Kirsty Baker and has been facilitated in collaboration with Elle Loui August, Zoe Black, Abby Cunnane, Simon Gennard, Ioana Gordon-Smith, Milly Mitchell-Anyon, Israel Randell, DJCS and Matariki Williams.

Event: Tui atu, Tui mai | Mai i Paritinia ki Taranaki: a kōrero on art and solidarity
6:30 pm | Thursday 3 April

Alongside the Govett-Brewster’s presentation of the Stitching Solidarity: Artists for Palestine quilt, join Marilyn Garson, Ruakere Hond and Tahseen Othman for a conversation reflecting on the role artists play as agents of political change and the responsibilities we hold in Aotearoa to enact solidarity with Palestine in the face of ongoing genocide.

This event is free, but space is limited. RSVP here to secure your spot.