The Fabric Ashford came to a colourful finale

Over the summer, Ashford town centre has been a hub of colour and creativity as we have been running the events programme The Fabric of Ashford: The Place That Makes Us.

Emergency Exit Arts (EEA) were commissioned by Ashford Borough Council and worked in partnership with local organisations Made In Ashford and Revelation Ashford to produce a series of creative workshops over July and August 2022, culminating in the unveiling of the Ashford Tapestry, a work made by sewing the communities artwork together, on Saturday 20 August on the bandstand.

This year’s project was launched with a public workshop on the bandstand. A series of community and public workshops were then held at The Craftship, Singleton Environment Centre and Mr Harpers Picnic at Victoria Park over the following weeks. The Loveashford team have had some really wonderful feedback from these events:

“I managed to find my own photo of Ashford to colour in. It's so good. I am proud of my piece of the tapestry.”

“It is a joy to see children and grownups learning a new skill and being together.”

“It’s amazing having free events to bring the children to.”

The finale event was to showcase all the pieces that had been made throughout the public and community workshops. On the day, there were free creative workshops where participants could sew postcards, make wands, and help create a sash for Ashford’s Giant Flora. As part of the project, EEA commissioned Camille, a freelance producer, to create Ashford’s very unique tale. In creating this story, she engaged with different parts of the community to represent Ashford’s very diverse make-up.

If you missed the event or want to relive the magic, then you can watch a video that has been made of this year’s finale here.

The Ashford Tapestry panels have now been installed in 11 businesses in the town centre until Saturday 1 October, as part of the tapestry trail.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this project a success - from the hundreds of people who attended our workshops, to those who facilitated them and those who enjoyed the live music and buzzing atmosphere in the town centre over the summer. 

As our Events Framework for 2022 continues to move forward, we are looking forward to welcoming local and national musical talents to Ashford throughout October as part of the Create Music Village. Macknade, Revelation Ashford, Coachworks and The Glass House will be opening their doors throughout the month to host a series of musical performances and build our reputation as a hub for creative talent. You can find out more here.

We also are looking ahead to this year’s Carnival of the Baubles, which will be held on Saturday 26 November – so please make sure to save the date!