Bovey Tracey-based Make Southwest and researchers from the University of Exeter are looking for people to craft 12cm patchwork squares as part of a project exploring women’s creative identities.

The squares will be stitched together by artist Ruth Broadway and put on display at Make Southwest in early 2025.

The patchwork is part of a larger research project called ‘The Art of Fiction’, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Academics at the University of Exeter are looking at how historic perceptions of women’s writing and art as frivolous pastimes continue to impact the way women feel about their creative identities today.

‘Art forms and techniques associated with the popular, the everyday, and the feminine have historically been considered trivial or second rate,’ explained Dr Patricia Zakreski, senior lecturer in Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Exeter.

‘In the 18th and 19th century, women were largely excluded from accessing materials and training to enter ‘serious artforms’ like fine art and sculpture,’ she said. ‘While much has changed in that regard, the legacy of that under-appreciation of decorative arts persists. So, our hope is that through this project we can learn more about women’s creative lives and provide an opportunity for both men and women to tell us stories about inspirational female creativity.’

Submissions to the project should be 10cm squares with a 1cm border. They can be embellished with stitching, beadwork or paint or simply be a plain piece of material that is significant to a personal experience. Researchers are keen for people to share stories about women’s creative identities, women who have inspired them and thoughts on whether a craft taught by older family members, such as knitting or embroidery, constitutes art or not.

‘We’re welcoming the work of everyone, whatever form it comes in,’ said Dr Alex Gushurst-Moore, a post-doctoral research fellow on the Art of Fiction project. ‘We hope that the final work is a rich patchwork of embellished scraps, pieces of material with a story, and patches made from scratch.’

The closing date for submission of the patches is September 30. Further information can be found on the University website.