Liz Kueneke - The Urban Fabric El Tejido Urbano - Equador

The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge – Liz Kueneke

Liz Kueneke is an artist who works with communities to help them understand their neighborhoods through participatory embroidery. She has carried out projects in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Ibiza, Amsterdam, Barcelona, New York and more.

Large hand embroidered maps of areas are created and then taken to the communities for them to embellish with stitches.

Liz Kueneke - Urban Fabric of Ibiza
Liz Kueneke – Urban Fabric of Ibiza

This is a fantastic idea, as the participants add value to the embroidered maps with their own experiences. It provides a social history to the area that you wouldn’t get from municipal maps.

Liz Kueneke - The Urban Fabric El Tejido Urbano - Equador
Liz Kueneke – The Urban Fabric El Tejido Urbano – Equador

You can tell from the various photographs on Liz’s site that she gets terrific engagement from the communities, many of which have existing embroidery traditions within their cultures.

Liz Kueneke - The Hemp Map of Amsterdam
Liz Kueneke – The Hemp Map of Amsterdam

Not only is a tangible map of the area created, but it serves as a time capsule of the places and spaces that have value at the time of creation. It would be fascinating to run the same project across subsequent decades to discover what changes and what remains the same.

Liz Kueneke - The Urban Fabric El Tejido Urbano - Equador
Liz Kueneke – The Urban Fabric El Tejido Urbano – Equador

I think this is a wonderful concept and something that any group should try. Needlework skills are not imperative and once the map is created any form of embellishment would work. You can discover a lot more about the projects on Liz’s website and if you’re part of a craft group, you should give it some serious thought!

Liz Kueneke - The Hemp Map of Amsterdam
Liz Kueneke – The Hemp Map of Amsterdam

Follow Liz Kueneke on Instagram to discover the other creative projects she runs with communities, and if you’ve the time, enjoy this video from the Urban Fabric project:

Are you at the Cutting (& Stitching) Edge? Do you know of an artist that we should feature? Get in touch!

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