UCL Arts & Humanities Community Cloth Launch Event

In preparation for UCL’s Bicentenary (UCL200) in 2026, the Faculty in collaboration with the Stitch School, is launching the UCL Arts and Humanities Community Cloth on Wednesday 22nd January 2025 (sign up here). This will be an opportunity to create something together as a Faculty that will result in a vibrant and original UCL200 artefact; you can see examples here of other Stitch School community cloth projects.

Our design will be based on a Faculty family tree, and will include each of the 10 departments. This will be printed onto a cloth, on which staff and students will be invited to stitch at the launch and further drop-in sessions. We encourage students and staff (both academic and professional services) to sign up to the launch event here.

At the launch, there will be a member of the Stitch School present to teach us different stitching techniques; there is no requirement for you to have any stitching experience. All necessary equipment will be provided and there will be drinks and refreshments available too! The launch event will be in two parts:

• 12pm – 1pm: Official launch of the Community Cloth with Arts and Humanities Dean Stella Bruzzi
• 1pm – 4pm: 30-minute drop-in stitching slots

Following the launch, staff and students from across the Faculty will be invited to drop in and stitch a bit of the design; there will be more information about this in due course on our Community Cloth SharePoint page. There will also be opportunities for you to host the cloth in your department and invite staff and students to contribute their stitches. If this is something you would like to do, please email: ah-wellbeing@ucl.ac.uk

Once completed, the UCL Arts & Humanities Cloth will be displayed on campus for everyone to enjoy! As a UCL200 artefact, we hope that it will be enjoyed not only us, but many future generations of staff and students over the next 200 years of UCL.

If we still haven’t persuaded you to contribute your stitches to our fabulous cloth, here are 5 reasons to do so:

1. The slow nature of hand stitching is calming
2. Creative
3. Stitching requires you to develop cognitive skills and is good for the brain
4. A physical hobby away from screens
5. Learn to repair your old clothes

Stitching is for everyone -- no matter what your level of expertise, or even if you have none at all, come along and make your mark for the future!

We look forward to seeing you,

Arts and Humanities Wellbeing Team

Arts and Humanities Marketing and Communications Team