Tea towel Project – For Sue

By Liv Collins, 4th Year Fine Art, School of Arts and Cultures

In December 2020, I decided to establish a community art project, Tea towel Project – For Sue, based in the small rural village of Oulston, North Yorkshire (where I grew up). The aim of this project was to commemorate and celebrate the life of Sue Allum, a beloved member of our community, who sadly passed away at the end of 2020. Due to strict covid-19 restrictions, only her close family were able to attend her funeral. Thus, I felt compelled to start a project which would allow my community to say goodbye to Sue, and to come together at a time when we were being told to stay two metres apart.

So, I gave pieces of paper to over 50 women and girls in my village and invited them to do whatever they pleased with it. I wanted to make this a feminist project in order to reflect Sue’s brilliant feminist values. I was bowled over by the response, from origami to poetry, my community had created a plethora of unique artworks which celebrated Sue. Due to the funding I kindly received from the Institute for Creative Arts Practice, I was able to design and print a collection of tea towels which exhibit all of the artworks together. These tea towels will be distributed to every household who participated in this project. These collaborative tea towels will sit in our kitchens, as a vibrant reminder to the importance of friendship, community, and the brilliant legacy which Sue has left behind.

For more information on the project, please contact: O.collins3@newcastle.ac.uk