Stitching Generations
This October, ARTS partnered with the National City Community Services Department to undertake an intergenerational art project between Community ARTS youth and FABs (Fifty and Better) of the Kimball Senior Center entitled Stitching Generations/ Tejiendo Generaciones. Each of our four Community ARTS project teams had the opportunity to work alongside the FABs to participate in the creation of a “yarn bombing” project that will live temporarily outside of the ARTS Center. Although only a handful of our Community ARTS youth had ever crocheted before their workshop, everyone could take away invaluable skill sets in the craft and cultivate meaningful connections with one another.
We began each workshop session with an introduction from each of the FABs. They were able to describe their relationship to crochet and how it has impacted their lives positively- whether that be by bettering mental health, allowing them to dress for cold climates, sparking up new streams of revenue, or by bridging relationships with others. The goal with having these personal testimonies was to not only acquaint the youth and the FABs, but also to highlight the importance of preserving oral history, given that each of the elders had such a unique story to tell.
The second half of each of the sessions were dedicated to organic interaction between the FABs and youth as they implored on their project. Everyone learned the fundamentals of crochet, a chain stitch, and were able to work off of those pieces to create a larger textile that will be incorporated in our public art piece. Stories, laughs, and experiences were shared and many youth came out with the urge to continue crocheting on their own time.
Join us for our upcoming Stitching Generations/Tejiendo Generaciones project, where we aim to beautify National City and bring our community together through creativity.
On November 16th, from 10 AM to 2 PM, we invite you to an open community workshop at the ARTS Center. Everyone is welcome to learn from the FABs and ARTS team as you crochet a piece to contribute to our yarn bombing project and assist with the final installation.
All supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring your own crochet hooks!
