A group of first year students from HSDC have recently gotten involved in a collaborative hand stitching exhibition with Havant’s Spring Arts and Heritage Centre.
The students, all of whom study A Levels in Fashion & Textiles at HSDC Havant, were selected to be involved in the ‘Threads of Freedom’ project at The Spring. This project forms part of ‘Our Freedom: Then and Now’, a nationwide programme from Future Arts Centres that marks 80 years since VE//VJ Day.
The purpose of the project is to allow communities across the country to come together and create a collaborative textile piece celebrating what freedom means to them. For example, one piece of work says ‘freedom to grow’ whilst another says that ‘freedom means living without borders, prejudice and conflict, but with love’.
HSDC’s students have been involved in this project alongside renowned artists Helen Sill and Tanya Wood, who are lending their expertise to the exhibition. Both artists have been gathering drawings, words, and stitches from the local community in Havant and have been working on weaving these messages onto a signature cloth.
This was a great opportunity for these textile students to gain genuine hands-on experience of helping to create and display a piece of art in an authentic gallery setting. HSDC is committed to ensuring that all students are afforded opportunities like these, so that they can leave college with the confidence and skills they need to succeed in their working lives.
Iana Mizguina is the Course Lead for Havant’s Textiles A Level, and is very proud of her students’ work for the exhibition, saying:
“We would like to thank Helen Sill, Tanya Wood and The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre for the opportunity to collaborate on this wonderful project. Our talented students have worked really hard and created unique and personal responses to what freedom means to them today. We are extremely proud to be part of such an important community project!”
This is just one of the many public initiatives that HSDC is involved in, ensuring that the College continues to serve not just its students, but the wider community.