Arts Derbyshire lockdown quilt visits Erewash as part of county tour

A quilt stitched with stars made by older people in Derbyshire during the pandemic is touring the county and includes a stop-off in the Erewash borough.

The quilt, and an accompanying soundtrack of poems and lullabies is part of an Arts Derbyshire project entitled 'A Necklace of Stars' designed to boost the wellbeing of housebound people over 65 in lockdown.

A Necklace of Stars celebrates childhood and the night sky in words, song and stitches. The project sought to show the power of human connection and creativity in the face of lockdowns and isolation.

A team of artists – artist Lois Blackburn, poet Philip Davenport and songwriter Matt Hill – worked with nearly 100 participants, talking for months over the phone.

Philip Davenport said: “Art isn’t usually considered to be an emergency service, but during the lockdowns this was a life-line to isolated people. Out of something terrible we managed to conjure some little glimmers of hope.”

One of the participants, Neil, said :“There is an aura off the stars, it’s very powerful. It draws us to it, gives us peace. Instead of taking life for granted, I’m writing, exploring it. Opening my eyes to the starlight."

Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis, Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, Culture, Tourism and Climate Change, said: “The lockdowns were difficult for us all, but particularly for people who were already isolated and couldn’t be visited by friends and family in their own home.

“A Necklace of Stars, by enabling people to create beautiful and meaningful art with others in the same situation, allowed them to make connections and tackle loneliness."

Ann Wright, head of arts at Derbyshire County Council, said: “A Necklace of Stars continues and expands the work of Arts Derbyshire and Derbyshire Libraries to engage with isolated members of the community through innovative art. We’ve developed our programme of Arts & Health work over the last 10 years, creating the Age Friendly Standards for Arts Projects; this project continues pioneering artistic excellence in Derbyshire.

“While the wider world became a place of fear for many older people, here embroideries, poems and songs reached up to the shared night sky as a way to escape.”

Locally, the quilt can be seen at Derby Museum of Making from 6th June to 31st August, and closer to home, at Erewash Museum from 3rd to 28th September.

Necklace of Stars is an Arts Derbyshire project, with Derbyshire County Council Public Health and Derbyshire Home Library Service, funded by Arts Council England.