CDPB is delighted to partner with the Colombian Embassy in the UK, Ulster University and Conflict Textiles to host a workshop on the occasion of the Women Weavers of Mampuján visit to Belfast this November. The new Colombian Ambassador to the UK HE Roy Barreras Montealegre will also be visiting NI to meet with the political, community and business representatives and to deliver a lecture at Ulster University.
At the heart of the workshop are the Women Weavers of Dreams and Flavours of Peace of Mampuján. Hailing from the war-torn region of Montes de Maria in Colombia, this group of displaced women turned to the art of tapestry as a means of healing and storytelling. Rather than conventional quilts, they sewed their stories onto large tapestries drawing on Afro-Caribbean storytelling and local textile art traditions, vividly depicting the atrocities they endured as a community and their displacement experiences. The women credit the process with being central to their process of healing and re-building, enabling them to come together and to share their pain, to commemorate and to start looking forward.
The Stitching our Stories: Displacement, Healing, New Possibilities workshop, facilitated by Breege Doherty and Eva Gonzalez of Conflict Textiles, will take place on Thursday, 23rd November at Ulster University’s Belfast Campus.
The event organised in partnership with Conflict Textiles and Ulster Presents promises to be a celebration of resilience, creativity, and shared narratives. It is free of charge, and you can sign up via the Eventbrite link below. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
The workshop aims to facilitate the sharing of stories, emphasising themes of conflict, displacement, healing, individual and collective navigation of these challenges, and the opportunities they now pursue in a rapidly changing world. Additionally, attendees will have the privilege of hearing the Women Weavers of Mampuján recount their journey of establishing the Museum of Art and Memory in Mampuján, shedding light on the power of art and memory in reconciliation. Participants will also engage in a creative exercise, crafting arpillera dolls representing elements of these shared stories, with the final creations set to be presented at the Colombian Ambassador to the UK’s lecture at Ulster University.
Overall, the workshop promises to be a poignant exploration of art, memory, and the resilience of women from diverse corners of the world.
Stitching our Stories: Displacement, Healing, New Possibilities
Thursday, 23rd November | 10am to 5pm
Room BA-00-21, Ulster University, Belfast Campus
Register at: https://tinyurl.com/womenweavers
