Matt Rosen
In 2019, a group of Friends in Britain started the Loving Earth Project to celebrate the many places, people, plants, and animals threatened by environmental devastation. Supported by the Quaker Arts Network and Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, among others, the project has helped people to engage creatively with their climate anxieties and hopes. In large part, this has been through a community textile project, and the room for reflection that artistic practice can create.
In the past few years, hundreds of textile panels have been made as part of the project; these have been shown in exhibitions all over the country and abroad. There are several upcoming exhibitions, including in Somerset, Manchester, and St Neots.
The project has now produced two short books full of photographs of textile panels and commentary about how panel-makers have been inspired to better the world and raise awareness. The first – Loving Earth: Some Starting Points for Earthcare – is an alphabet booklet. It illustrates some of the many things affected by climate breakdown and suggests actions to take. The second book, hot off the press, is Animals and Their Homes: Some Threats and Ways to Help. It includes a variety of panels featuring creatures and their habitats, all affected by climate breakdown. Accompanying text combines scientific facts with personal insights, actions, and hopes.
Both books make excellent gifts and can be purchased online at the Loving Earth Project shop: lovingearth-project.uk/shop. On the website, there’s a gallery where you can see many of the panels that have been produced, and you can find information about how to get involved in the project.
Rarely have we needed to act with such urgency. The Loving Earth Project is using the arts to help people take action, inspired by love, without being overwhelmed. The support of Friends across the UK and abroad has made that possible.
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Forty-Three Newsletter • Number 522 • October 2022
Oxford Friends Meeting
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