Year of Repair

By Rachel Wallis

The ethos of repair is woven into every strand of the Narrow Bridge Arts Club.

From the care taken to repair its glorious century old building, to the commitment to material reuse, to the relationships built in the shared studios strengthening the fabric of our communities. From the first time I read about the project I knew it would be a fantastic space to explore my project Year of Repair.

  Year of Repair was born out of a time when I was feeling overwhelmed by what was broken in the world around me. The scale of the damage was so large and I felt so small and ineffective. I needed to ground myself in the possibility of repair: that everyday, in every community, people are fixing the things that are broken at a human level.

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I spent a year diving into different strategies for repair, including restorative justice; regenerative agriculture; mutual aid; trauma informed healing; harm reduction; and material reuse. I coordinated a book club about repair, and held monthly mending circles at a local community garden. I grew dye plants that restored the local ecosystem by removing toxins, enriching the soil, and feeding pollinators.

At the end of the year, I gathered up what had been collected: the Hopi sunflowers, coreopsis, comfrey, and marigold plants; the unmendable textiles, too worn to be repaired and ready for their next use; and the dreams of repair from the circle participants.

During my residency at Narrow Bridge, I’m combining all of these ingredients into a quilt documenting what is broken in our lives, and what we are working to repair.

Again, join me this Friday March 28th from 1pm to 4pm, and then again from 6pm - 9pm for the final community quilting circles of this residency. We will sit in circle, explore how we repair what is broken in our lives and communities, while embroidering squares for the Year of Repair quilt. No sewing experience is necessary. Refreshments will be served. Wheelchair accessible. Masks suggested. For other accessibility needs, questions or concerns contact Rachel.a.wallis@gmail.com