Close Knit is a stunning textile piece designed by DIY artists and participants working with visual artist Claire Hignett as part of DIY’s 30th Birthday celebrations in 2024.
Together, we printed self-portraits and our favourite DIY Theatre memories onto fabric. Claire then used these pieces to create a textile work that celebrates DIY’s history and who we are today.
The centre of the artwork is split into five sections, each representing one of our shows: Following the Thread, Give Me Space, Following Patient 36, and Hanging by a Thread, along with our creative activities during lockdown. A border of triangles, created by our Visual Arts group, forms a series of arrows that surround the piece. Small colourful cubes stand on the mat, representing our members, as part of a game that’s yet to be invented.
Textiles are a great way to work with lots of different people, including those who are non-verbal. It’s a wonderful way to communicate.” – DIY Artist
We want people to see our creative work and how we use drama and textiles. Everyone with a learning disability has a voice!” – DIY Artist
Alongside the development of the soft handling sculpture, DIY members worked with film-maker Hilary Easter Jones to create a film. As well as documenting the process of creating the sculpture the film enabling us to capture some of the discussions and stories that emerged as the textile piece was being created.
You can see the Close Knit Film here:
The Close Knit textile piece and the Close Knit film were first showcased at our 30th Birthday celebration event at The Angel Centre on Friday 21st of June 2024.
We produced a programme for the Close Knit event, which you can see by clicking this link.
A follow-up exhibition was mounted in partnership with Eccles Community Art Gallery which ran from Friday 11th of October, until Saturday 2nd of November 2024.
Close Knit was funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund
