Date
Summer + Autumn 2026
Image Credits
Heritage Community Crafts
Stitching Stories will explore the craft of crochet, and how seniors (aged 65+) from Africa and the Caribbean practised this craft in their countries of origin and continue to preserve these traditions after journeying to the UK after World War II to help rebuild Britain. During three crochet workshops, designed and facilitated by Elizabeth Joseph, seniors from the Barnet African Caribbean Association will share their crochet and crafting stories. They will crochet an item that will be worn during a performance by JUST INCARNIVAL, and exhibited, at the Arts Depot during Black History Month this October. The project will speak to the theme of Light + Flight, drawing on the stories shared in the Workshops about how the participants came to live in Barnet and how they experience the borough today, compared with their 'home' countries and islands.
About Heritage Community Crafts
Heritage Community Crafts was founded in 2023 by Elizabeth Joseph and Kathleen O'Keeffe. They design and facilitate creative crafts workshops for under-represented groups, such as African and Caribbean Seniors, looked after teenagers, and young people who are excluded from mainstream education. They teach new creative skills, increasing confidence, relaxing the mind while focusing on the activities. They create group artworks: visual storytellings of participant’s experiences, after sharing these stories with the group if they wish, from which they create free public displays. Elizabeth Joseph was born and lives in Barnet, and is Caribbean/British, with Barbadian/Antiguan parents.
Light + Flight is presented by Art in Barnet. It is supported by a Cultural Impact Award, part of the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture programme. It is made possible with additional support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England.