(Re)Building a Community through collective art

Abstract

This article explores the themes of exile, memory, and how a community can heal through collective art-making. Since 2018 the project  Bordando por la memoria- Embroidering Memory has been working on textiles that memorialize the lives of the men, women, and children killed in the Chilean dictatorship. It is a patchwork of personal testimonies and gives historical context to the use of making textiles in Chile as a way of collective resistance. Written from the perspective of a second-generation Chilean it fills the gap of always being the subject and not the expert. It aims to discuss the importance of making art for people collectively whilst speaking to the needs of a group as well as the need to keep memory alive.