Sewing for Sanctuary is our latest project supported by Exeter City Council. We aim to bring together a group of women with an inclusive callout to encourage and welcome LGBTQIA+ identifying women and non-binary people from across Exeter to spend time making a new textile piece to be exhibited in the city.

Alongside this a piece of writing will accompany the textile art work created in response to the workshops and conversations in the workshop space. Highlighting the importance of sanctuary in the Twenty-First Century and what it means to an intersectional range of women in living in our dear city of Exeter.

It is a time to be asking such questions as the idea of sanctuary is challenged on global stages and through our social media feeds. Sanctuary also conjures up what it means to belong. As an initial provocation it conjures a multitude of thoughts and possibilities. What we are interested in is what women have to say about this and in creating something new there will be something tangible to then be shared publicly in a range of locations across the city over a period of time. The banner will find its first home at the Guildhall.

We will take time to share stories, whilst thinking and talking about what sanctuary means to the participants from their lived experiences.

The project will be led by community artists and Natalie McGrath (Director of Dreadnought South West).

Another hope is to record participants voices to create an audio piece in response to the work and the experience of taking part and for some being introduced to the work of Dreadnought South West for the first time. This will be shared digitally on our website.

Participation will be free and information on how to take part is on its way. So watch this space!

We will also remember and honour our much missed Co-Director Josie Sutcliffe who died in August 2025. It would be remiss of us not to have the final piece have an honouring of her as part of it.