Two new community art pieces will soon adorn the walls of Brentwood Park Neighbourhood House (BPNH), the result of a community arts and diversity project that has brought together a wide range of participants.
BPNH manger Samar Mougharbel and local crafter Micah Caverley sought to bring together members of the diverse community and engage them through the act of making.
Together they conceived a project comprising a huge woven wall hanging, and an embroidered banner.
These works would represent the many colours and personalities of the individuals who would come to make the piece, a manifestation of BPNH’s inclusive values.
An open invitation to several free weaving workshops revealed an encouraging enthusiasm for this project by community volunteers.
These workshops evolved into regular weaving working bees and satellite events, including at the Berwick Night Market.
To complement this expression of the House’s values, an embroidery group who regularly meet at BPNH rose to the challenge of designing and constructing a banner, contributing their deep expertise in textile design, quilting, and embroidery.
Weaving volunteers are Casey residents from Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Korea, China, Japan, Lebanon, Chile, and the United Kingdom.
Their shared love of creating this piece has surpassed language barriers, and community members have found in this group a safe place to tell stories about themselves and their cultures, and friendships have blossomed.
The 200 circular weavings are formed using compact discs, repurposed into weaving looms.
The discs – now an abundant waste product in the age of digital streaming –were destined for landfill.
The two works of art will be unveiled on Monday 27 August 2018 at 1pm, please call 0431 332 086 or email admin@bpnh.org.au if you wish to attend.
