Crafted responses to covid belong in national galleries

I love not only the textile representations of the coronavirus featured in this news story,1 but also the fact that the New Zealand government is actively wanting to incorporate a national artistic response to the pandemic in its most prestigious museum. It is difficult to imagine the current Westminster Conservative government doing the same as it rapidly attempts to re-write history along the lines of “we got all the big calls right,” despite at least 200 000 pieces of evidence to the contrary.2Here in the UK, groups have been working on textile representations of the covid-19 outbreak with a series of quilts now being shown in different venues around the country, organised entirely by volunteers.3 These are amazing pieces, displaying fear, isolation, loneliness, courage, empathy, and hope, tempered with anger at the political mismanagement that has been so costly to our health and continues to wreak havoc.The exhibition Threads of…
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