New textile and multimedia exhibition to open in Kilkenny

The exhibition is the culmination of a project curated by artist Lorna Donlon in partnership with women in minority communities across Ireland and biomedical researchers from UCD's Conway Institute.

Through a series of ten gatherings in community settings around Ireland, including one in Kilkenny last year, women shared personal stories about fabrics significant to their cultural traditions, customs and lived experience. These get-togethers provided an opportunity for researchers to share the parallels between patterns in textiles and those seen at the cellular level in health research.

Inspired by these stories, Donlon created a handwoven tapestry that bridges personal and scientific narratives through fabrics and is complemented in the exhibition by research textiles and videos. Six participants of the Kilkenny get-together from the local Ukrainian and African communities are represented in the exhibition.

There will be a free pre-launch event on Thursday, June 12 from 4pm to 5pm featuring insights from Donlon, researchers, community participants and Elaine Quinn, project lead from the Conway Institute before the launch at 5:30pm. The exhibition will run until July 5.

To register, call the Mayfair library on 056 779 4174 or email mayfair@kilkennylibrary.ie. 

For further details on the exhibition visit www.cutfromthesamecloth.org.