Rural Arts was one of a hundred arts organisations that were selected to host the national project PROCESSIONS organised by Artichoke and commissioned by 14-18 Now. This project was an invitation for communities to express the hopes, desires, fears and challenges of being a woman in the 21st Century.
This was an opportunity for all individuals who attended the sessions to get creative whilst working collaboratively with text and textiles to create a beautiful, expressive banner.
2018 marked the 100th year since the historical moment where the subsequent legislation was passed that allowed women to vote and stand for parliament. PROCESSIONS was designed to unite and inspire women from all walks of life in a celebration of what it means to be a woman today and to acknowledge the power of voting.
Rural Arts’ banner was completed between February and May 2018 by artists at Rural Arts and over 50 volunteers, who participated in the free workshops in Thirsk. On 10th June, a group of participants and Rural Arts staff took part in the PROCESSIONS event, a huge public artwork and mass procession that took place in London, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Rural Arts processed with their banner through the streets of London alongside banners made by various artists, organisations and communities in green, white and violet colours to create a living artwork.
