‘Piecing Peace Together’ on St David's Day this year and beyond. This is the message and call of Wales Arts International and Academi Heddwch (The Welsh Peace Academy) our Patron Saint's Day as they launch a joint project with textile artist Bethan M. Hughes calling for peace, which will echo the Welsh Women's Peace Petition 1923-24 and symbolise the huge influence women can have on the world when they unite their voices.
The project invites today’s women to embroider their signatures in a series of workshops led by Bethan M. Hughes echoing the original petition in 1924, with the final piece being displayed at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in July this year.
Inspired by the Women's Peace Petition of Wales 1923-4, which saw nearly 400,000 women sign a petition calling for Peace and led a delegation to America to appeal to that nation’s women to use their influence to urge the US government to join the League of Nations, the aim is to produce a creative interpretation of the original petition in stitch, through a series of workshops both in person and online with a hope of inspiring women from all corners of the world to use their voice and creativity to call for peace.
Bethan M. Hughes, currently Artist in Residence at Ruthin Craft Centre, said:
"The history of the original petition, the Women's Peace Petition of Wales a century ago, is remarkable, and as a textile artist, I had the idea of starting an art campaign that gives Welsh women the opportunity to sign their names in the form of tapestry, called Edefyn Heddwch (Thread of Peace). The aim is to collect new names calling for Peace today, as well as to create a significant and impactful piece of art with the hope of inspiring and creating a new generation of Peace activists in Wales today. I am grateful to the Academi Heddwch’s ‘Hawlio Heddwch/ Peace Petition Partnership’ and the Heritage Lottery Fund for sponsoring the project and to Wales Arts International for funding the international work so that women around the world can embroider their names for Peace in future."
The original petition - which is said to be 7 miles long - was taken to the USA in an oak chest by Annie Hughes Griffiths, Mary Elis, Elined Prys, and Gladys Thomas. There, it was presented to the women of America by the delegation. Since 1923, the petition had been kept at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC until it returned to Wales last April. Here, it is the subject of a wider project called ‘Women’s Peace Appeal’ under the care of Academi Heddwch, which collaborates with the National Library and a number of institutions and groups to spread the remarkable history. Today, Wales Arts International is proud to support this project through the 'Piecing Peace Together’ campaign, which will promote signature embroideries calling for global Peace.
Eluned Haf, Head of Wales Arts International, an Internal Agency of The Arts Council of Wales, said:
"As fierce wars spread across Europe and the Middle East and the Climate Crisis affects every corner of the planet, it is very relevant that artists and women from Wales are working for Peace. Bethan M. Hughes' new art petition with Academi Heddwch Cymru, echoes the signatures of the original petition from 1924 and reminds us of the ongoing need to act for peace. Collaborative art like this is a powerful act in raising awareness in Wales and internationally. Wales Arts International is very proud to support this project, which is generating increasing interest in Welsh communities and globally as this extraordinary new petition calls for a newly peaceful world."
Mererid Hopwood, Chair of the Hawlio Heddwch/Peace Petition Partnership project and Academi Heddwch’s Secretary said:
"In days when the magnitude of the world’s problems can make us feel powerless, it's good to remember that we can, stitch by stitch, mend the work and create a new and better picture. This is why Academi Heddwch is especially pleased to be collaborating with Bethan M. Hughes and Wales Arts International on the ‘Piecing Peace Together’ project and its campaign of hope."
The final piece will be shown during the International Eisteddfod at the Dory Gallery in Llangollen.