Threads and Yarns An intergenerational textile project exploring personal accounts of health and well-being over the past 75 years

Project Team: Jo Morrison, Rebecca Hoyes, Anne Marr Amy Sanders and Leanne Manfredi

Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design BA TextilesWellcome TrustVictoria & Albert MuseumQueen Marys College

Context: The project promoted intergenerational conversation around biomedical themes. Intergenerational meeting between students and 30 75 year olds. The participants discussed their personal experiences of health and wellbeing spanning 75 years, and in doing so explored changes in many areas of public health. While participants engaged in creative making they shared their personal histories. The recorded oral histories enabled researchers in science, history of medicine and medical humanities as well as designers to examine and develop connections and accounts of specific and general biomedical advances.

QuickTime™ and aBMP decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Project: The textile work and the oral history recordings made during the workshops were displayed at the V&A Sackler Centre in July 2011. The exhibition was accompanied by specialist talks by researchers, curators and designers, responding to the unique cross-over of making and socio-historical research during the project.

Design role: Collaborative making was used as the main driver to retrieve oral histories. The process of textile making produced 125 of unique ’personality’ flowers. These were later exhibited in an interactive display made by postgraduates students from Queen Mary’s College. The participating BA Textile Design students benefited by gaining further insights of the value of socio-responsive research to inform design outcomes.

http://wellcometrust.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/threads-and-yarns/