The Red Dress is heading to Bath Spa University
We’re hugely excited to announce that as part of our Flagship Hub programme of activities, The Red Dress project will be exhibited at the Bath Spa University Locksbrook campus between 23rd - 27th September. Conceived by British artist, Kirstie Macleod,, The Red Dress provides an artistic platform for individuals (the majority of whom are women and live in poverty) to tell their personal stories through the craft of embroidery.
From 2009 to 2023, pieces of The Red Dress travelled the globe being continuously embroidered onto.
Constructed out of 87 pieces of burgundy silk dupion, the garment has been worked on by 367 women/girls, 11 men/boys and 2 non-binary artists from 51 countries. All 141 commissioned embroiderers were paid for their work, and received a portion of all ongoing exhibition fees, merchandise, and the opportunity to sell their work through The Red Dress Etsy shop. The rest of the embroidery was added by the willing audience at various exhibitions & events.
Embroiderers include female refugees from Palestine, Syria and Ukraine, women seeking asylum in the UK from Iran, Iraq, China, Nigeria and Namibia, survivors of war in Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Rwanda, and DR Congo; impoverished women in South Africa, Mexico, and Egypt; individuals in Kenya, Japan, Turkey, Jamaica, Sweden, Peru, Czech Republic, Dubai, Afghanistan, Australia, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Tobago, Vietnam, Estonia, USA, Russia, Pakistan, Wales, Colombia and England, students from Montenegro, Brazil, Malta, Singapore, Eritrea, Norway, Poland, Finland, Ireland, Romania and Hong Kong as well as upmarket embroidery studios in India and Saudi Arabia.
Initially the project sought to generate a dialogue of identity through embroidery, uniting people around the world without borders. However, over the 14 years the dress has also become a platform for self-expression and an opportunity for voices to be amplified and heard. Many of the embroiderers are established professionals, but there are also pieces created by first time stitchers. The artists were encouraged to create a work that expressed their own identities whilst adding their own cultural and traditional experience. Some used specific styles of embroidery practised for hundreds of years within their family, village, or town whilst others chose simple stitches to convey powerful events from their past. Some of the women are rebuilding their lives with the help of embroidery, by using their skill or being trained in embroidery to earn a decent and consistent living.
The Red Dress’s 14-year creation journey around the world is now complete with the garment assembled in its final configuration. Covered in millions of stitches, the 6.8 kg silk Red Dress is weighted as much by the individual stories and collective voices waiting to be heard as by the threads and beads that adorn it. Visitors will be able to view the incredible project throughout the week - tickets are free and can be booked here.
Kirstie Macleod will be hosting an exclusive talk on the project as part of the Hub programme on Tuesday 24th September. Tickets can be booked here.