Community groups, volunteers and local people from Haworth are being invited to add their name to a major new artwork by celebrated textile artist Lynn Setterington, which will go on display along the Brontë Way this autumn.
Sew Near - Sew Far, a collaboration for the Brontë Parsonage Museum as part of Meeting Point 2, will see three large-scale, textile artworks along the Brontë Way celebrating the famous signatures of the Brontë sisters. Local people are being given the chance to add their own signature in a series of workshops with the artist.
The artworks form part of Brontë200, a five-year programme celebrating the bicentenaries of the births of four of the Brontës: Charlotte in 2016, Branwell in 2017, Emily in 2018 and Anne in 2020.
Artist Lynn Setterington said: “Signatures are an important marker of identity and the Brontë sisters famously used pseudonyms at their time of writing to disguise the fact they were women.
“I’m creating three artworks for Brontë Parsonage Museum exploring the adopted and real signatures of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë and I’m looking for local people to help me create them by sewing their own signatures into the pieces.
“We’re looking for individuals and organisations that make a difference to their community. People that often go without thanks or praise for the amazing work they do. We’re already working with Talk English in Bradford, an organisation that teaches English to those new to Britain, volunteers at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and Worth Valley Young Farmers, who fundraise and support a number of charities.”
The workshops in Haworth will take place on Tuesday 25 July and Tuesday 15 August at The Old School Room. Details of additional workshops during the summer will be posted on www.bronte.org.uk.
Lauren Livesey, Arts Officer at the Brontë Parsonage Museum said: “We’re currently delivering our five-year bicentennial festival and Sew Near - Sew Far falls into the year of Branwell Brontë; brother to Charlotte, Emily and Anne.
“This project is a fantastic way for local people to play a part in the Brontë200 celebrations. Anyone can take part and all the materials will be supplied. The sessions will be great fun and everyone is encouraged to be as creative as possible when sewing their signatures.”
Renowned for her work with textiles, embroidery and stitching, Lynn regularly collaborates with hard to reach and marginalised groups, not only to extend creative endeavour beyond the art gallery, but to commemorate those who are often overlooked in society. For more information visit www.lynnsetterington.co.uk.
Sew Near - Sew Far goes on display at sites near the Brontë Bridge and Waterfall on the Brontë Way from 30 September to 15 October and is part of Meeting Point2, a year-long project led by contemporary art agency Arts&Heritage that sees artists partner with museums in Yorkshire, the North West and the North East to produce new artworks inspired by the museums and their collections.
A film documenting the collaboration with the Brontë Parsonage Museum will be screened later in the year too.
For more information about Meeting Point2, visit www.artsandheritage.org.uk
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