University of York St John Collaboration

We love using our Collection to make connections with people who have not necessarily encountered quilts before, which inspired our collaboration with York St John University.

Every year, The Quilters? Guild work on a collaborative project with students from York St. John University, which uses the quilts featuring in our Festival exhibition as inspiration for their coursework. Second year students from two courses ? Illustration and Graphic Design ? are challenged with the choice of two briefs. The first is to create a piece of illustrative work that responds in some way to one of the pieces on display ? using design features or incorporating elements of these textile objects or their story. The second is to create a range of commercial products with a patchwork or quilting theme, inspired by the specific objects in this years? exhibition.

The students all respond in different ways, and their imagination and creative output is always fascinating to see. Coming from a non-textiles background, it is interesting to provide the challenge of using different source media, and types of objects that the students might not have considered using in their work before. Although sometimes initially daunted by the project, the students inevitable find many different areas and aspects to draw their inspiration from. Some are attracted to the colours and patterns, whilst others delve into the history and past lives of our objects. They interpret what they see using their specialist skills of illustration and design, to create wonderful objects and evolved narratives, creating prints, new designs, comics, journals, wall hangings and even games.

As part of the project, students are invited to visit The Collection and see the items in the flesh. Their initial introduction to the chosen selection of pieces is usually via digital images and an online seminar, and by the time they get to visit the have already narrowed down their shortlist or even chosen the object they want to focus on. This visit is a great opportunity to see the items up close, and gain a better understanding of fabrics, colours, textures and scale. It also helps to forge a bit more of a connection with their chosen piece, as it becomes a three-dimensional object rather than just a picture on a screen.

We?ve been working on these projects with York St. John since 2018, and we love to see what the students create. From their perspective, they also enjoy a project which presents different challenges to their other work.

We?re looking forward to seeing what they come up with this year, which will be on display on the exterior walls of our Quilt Collection gallery, ?A Diverse Patchwork?, at TG6 at The Festival of Quilts, Birmingham.