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Thursday 27 October Saturday 17 December 2022

Quilting the Lesbian Archive

By Sarah-Joy Ford

This is an exhibition using quilting to work with lesbian archive material. These pieces are all part of Sarah-Joy Ford’s research into quilting as a practice that changes how we think about lesbian histories - histories that have experienced marginalisation, erasure and injury.  In response, Sarah-Joy celebrates the people and ideas that have made networks of solidarity.  These quilts, and this exhibition, share a loving history.

Come and enjoy the work, as Sarah-Joy submits her PhD research, and prepares the quilts to move into collections and archives from Manchester to London.

The process of making and archiving feature in the exhibition - from the watercolours that inspire embroidery to the quilts bound for the archive box, ready for their move into new spaces.

The abundance of symbols and ideas acknowledged in this work comes from Sarah-Joy’s passionate commitment to the communities in her quilts.  They are public gifts to the women who fought for the right to vote, whose visibility was denied, whose sexuality was considered a threat to establishments from the literary to military.  They are an art of pleasure and resistance.

Find out more about Sarah-Joy's work at sarahjoyford.com