Stitching Together

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The Stitching Together project aims to develop improved critical understandings of participatory textile making as an emerging methodological approach to research by creating a sustainable network of researchers, project commissioners, professional textile practitioners and enthusiast maker groups. It will establish critical dialogue around participatory textile making methods, collate examples of best practice and argue for their value in research. The network will disseminate this knowledge to academic and non-academic audiences and prompt new participatory research initiatives.The familiarity of textile making processes such as sewing and knitting means these activities are accessible to participants and researchers in varied contexts across a range of disciplines, from clinical medicine and occupational therapy to community building and sustainable development. Researchers using participatory textile making activities are gaining rich insights into questions of artistic, scientific, social, material and cultural value. Despite this diversity, there is little academic material supporting the development of robust investigative approaches. Although the AHRC Cultural Value project and Connected Communities research shed light onto broader participatory arts activities and issues of community engagement, there remains a problematic gap in methodological confidence which is limiting development in the specific field of participatory textile making. The associated practical, ethical and conceptual challenges are encountered in research and non-research contexts, indicating scope for knowledge exchange to enhance impact and promote good research practices. In summary, the network will explore three research questions:- How is participatory textile making being used as a new methodological approach to research?- What issues does this raise for the validity and effectiveness of the research?- How do participatory textile making projects engage and impact participants?The grant will fund network activities structured around three key events that respond to the research questions: A 2-day Case Study Workshop at Clayhill Arts, Somerset, will bring together researchers using participatory textile making across the range of disciplines to examine ways in which this new methodological approach is being used in research contexts. Sampling these diverse participatory making activities will concentrate discussion in order to identify key methodological issues for further exploration and set the agenda for the second event.A 1-day Critical Reflection Workshop at the Arts University Bournemouth, with input from researchers, 'critical friends' from associated academic fields, project commissioners and professional textile practitioners, will focus on investigating the validity and effectiveness of these new methodological approaches for research contexts. Findings will support good practice guidelines and critical feedback for peer reviewed case study articles.A 1-day Study Day at Derby Museum & Art Gallery will be dedicated to exploring how these participatory textile making activities engage and impact volunteer participants. Enthusiast maker groups will be invited to join network discussions on the ethics of volunteer participation, co-creation of works and participant representation in research outcomes. Knowledge exchange between all stakeholder groups will facilitate new lines of collaborative research enquiry.The network will produce outcomes accessible to academic and non-academic audiences invested in participatory making activities: a collection of peer reviewed case study articles; two further co-authored papers on the methodological value of these approaches; a conference paper targeting museum/gallery outreach coordinators; a short film, illustrative examples and good practice guidelines openly accessible via a dedicated website; and a report disseminated to agencies with policy making influence.