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Year of Culture 2024 – Wool, Silk & Cotton

Calderdale is turning 50 in 2024. To celebrate they are hosting a Calderdale Year of Culture (CYOC24) from April 2024 to March 2025.

They want the Year of Culture to:

Be inclusive of, accessible to, and representative of our residents
Showcase talent of the borough
Have opportunities for people to have their say and co-create projects
Share the stories of our culture, history, and people
Get people active, interacting, and taking part
Celebrate Calderdale

Calderdale's Cultural Strategy 5 Priorities

A Larger Creative Life: We believe that culture and creativity should be woven into the fabric of every person’s life, regardless of age, to inspire happier, healthier lives.
Creative Citizens: Every community is empowered to grow and sustain its own cultural capacity – bringing to life the unique identity of each place and community.
A Resilient Valley: The cultural sector inspires creative and regenerative actions to rebuild a sustainable future.
Distinctly Calderdale: Businesses and visitors are attracted by the vibrancy of the cultural offer, strong sense of identity and creative possibilities.
A Thriving Cultural Scene: The sector – its people and organisations – is invested in so that it flourishes and plays a unique, dynamic and effective role in wider society.

“Wool, Silk and Cotton” is a Calderdale Interfaith Initiative that aims to celebrate the textile heritage of the local area now named Calderdale (see local history) through a community textile art project. In this project individuals and groups will be invited and supported (provision of materials and design guidance) to produce decorative textile squares (12” squared) expressing some aspect of their cultural and/or local heritage in the design. The squares can be knitted, crocheted, embroidered or felted. They must mainly comprise of wool, silk or cotton.

The project will be an excellent vehicle for bringing and holding people together. We will approach many local crafting, faith and support groups to invite their participation in the project. Towards the end of the year of culture we will organise a “Stitching Together” event to join the squares into a banner that will then become a lasting shared resource for Calderdale. It will subsequently be exhibited in community centres, schools, libraries and places of worship around the borough as a tangible expression of social cohesion and cultural life.

We hope to hold the “Stitching Together” event in Halifax Town Hall.

All participating must document and film those who are agreeable and their chosen pieces.

Anne Linehan – Treasurer, Calderdale Interfaith – 07741 480557
lorettalinehan49@gmail.com

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