Homeless people in Manchester have been telling their stories with needle and thread – embroidering the words onto a patchwork quilt, exhibited at Holden Gallery, Manchester 4-18th December.

the warm /&/the cold is a project run by arts organisation arthur+martha, led by poet Phil Davenport and artist Lois Blackburn, who have spent many months working with the homeless community, alongside students from MMU.

Davenport said: ‘The quilt was created by asking simple questions which don’t have simple answers. When were you warm? When were you cold? People talked about being physically cold, but also emotional warmth and cold. Some of the stories were brutal, others funny, or angry – or wise. People outside society can often have great insight.’

The project was devised to help homeless people develop new life skills, socialise and build their confidence. Volunteer student helpers from the Embroidery Department at Manchester Metropolitan University helped to stitch the work and also made quilts in reply. Volunteers from the Women’s Institute also lent their needles and expertise, embroidering the epic 9 feet by 12 feet patchwork poem.

Blackburn said: ‘Some of the students have put heart and soul into this – enthusiastic and very open-minded. Homelessness is a taboo, but it is likely to get more common in this time of economic hardship. We’ve met people from many walks of life and of many abilities. Often their family life has been disrupted and they spiral down from there. We hope that bringing students into the project will help promote acceptance of homeless people and wider understanding.’

The project challenges stereotypes about homelessness, combating hate crime against homeless people and emphasizing needs shared by us all – especially shelter and acceptance. arthur+martha use experimental writing techniques in their collaborations with marginalised people, especially cut-up and poems ‘found’ in conversation; the final pieces are often presented in public spaces and art galleries. This project is simultaneously an art exhibition and a sequence of text animations being shown by the BBC on Big Screens in Manchester and Liverpool.

A long-running project diary describing this and other arthur+martha work with homeless people in Manchester – particularly at The Big Issue in the North office, The Booth Centre and The Red Door – is to be found at the blog http://arthur-and-martha.blogspot.co.uk

the warm /&/the cold is funded by Arts Council England and Bury Arts Service. It is partnered by The Booth Centre, The Big Issue in the North, BBC, Salford University Media Department, Manchester Metropolitan University Embroidery Department.

Media contact: Philip Davenport

philipjohndavenport@hotmail.com