This blog has been written by Second Year Fine Art Student Lydia Mattson, about the Climate Resilience Quilt that was created as part of a group project in collaboration with the Living Lab and its Climate Resilience theme. Read more about how the Quilt was created and its inspiration below:

Throughout this semester, myself (Lydia Mattson), and fellow Fine Art students Sky Mans, Madison Whitehurst, and Charlotte Cairns have been working along side the Living Lab to create a banner inspired but climate resilience and action. This project was a part of our Professional Networks module which tasked us with working with different organisations within or outside the University campus in order to develop connections and collaborative skills within a career in the arts. Our group was drawn to this specific brief as we resonate with the aims and aspirations of the Living Lab and strongly believe in using our skills and creativity to bring awareness of important world issues, such as the climate crisis. With the current climate situation and a lack of care from our governments and leaders it is more important than ever for communities and artists to work together to bring light to and fight back against the issues our world is facing.

We brainstormed ideas together and decided that we wanted to create something more practical and interesting than a standard banner. The idea we had was to instead create a blanket or quilt out of recycled fabrics which would be decorated with some key messaging related to the climate crisis. This would allow the project to have practical use as a quilt, which could be placed around the campus in community spaces such as the library or student union to provide warmth and comfort to students, whilst also acting as a banner which can be displayed and prompts discussions about our climate and what we can do to help the ongoing crisis.

We had a mix of whole clothing items, fabric scraps, and full curtains/ bedding to use for the project. The materials for this came from a range of second-hand sources: some was donated by the living lab, some was bought from charity shops, and some was old clothing which we donated ourselves to the project. The topic of fast fashion and overconsumption is one that you will have no doubt heard of and is a serious contributor to climate decline and environmental pollution and so by using recycled materials for our project we aimed to slow down this cycle and spread awareness to the importance of slow and mindful fashion.

To work on our quilt, we grouped together to sort the fabrics, cut them to shape, and sew them together. It was a very meditative and fun project and seeing the second-hand fabric being repurposed into something new and meaningful which will hopefully stay on the University campus for many years to come and can continue to provide a conversation starter into discussions about our home planet and how we can better take care of it.

Working with the Living Lab has been a very enjoyable and rewarding experience, which we would recommend to for other students, especially within the school of arts. It is so important for students and young people to use their voices and personal talents to make a positive impact on our community spaces, and the Living Lab is the perfect on-campus opportunity for this.

On completion the quilt will be on display and useable as a community quilt in the Living Lab space on the York St John Campus.