FIBRE

noun a thread or filament from which a vegetable tissue, mineral substance, or textile is formed

The word fibre has many different meanings and connotations:
a natural or synthetic filament that may be spun into yarn, or used in fibre optics;
it is the narrow elongated thick-walled cell used to create our muscle fibre.
It has also come to represent notions of a moral adhesive, binding and uniting our social groups in times of crisis.

Fibre is a new long term investigation by Verd de gris arts into notions of connectivity. Weaving together threads of creativity (both physically and virtually) with sound artist and composer Nina Perry, poet Katie Atkinson and the women from our One Voice group, we will explore what it means to be connected.

Let the audience of your life see you like the wings of a butterfly
Life’s an adventure, fill it with your own colour and direction.
by Saalihah Rasheed

During the Covid-19 pandemic verd de gris arts have been these exploring ideas of how we connect with each other: weaving together threads of creativity with a group of local women, ONE VOICE who represent the social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds of women in Calderdale.

Watch Katie’s short film made in response to the theme:

The strangest thing about the pandemic is that it is affecting every single one of us, across the world. The feelings we are experiencing as women are very similar, and it is so important we realise we are not alone and that it’s okay to have days when we really struggle, no matter who we are: once we accept this, it can help.

We have been sharing the beautiful sound:poem we, as women, have made together with sound artist and composer Nina Perry and cellist Helen Thatcher. It captures in a profound and moving way the extraordinary times we have all been living through. You can listen to the full poem here:

“I loved this, the mixture of voices and registers, often moving, at times captivating, the joy of being and working with other women, I thought that was very powerful!”

We want the poem to be a starting point for an open conversation with you about your experiences of lockdown and what we can do together to respond to its shifting legacy.

We want this year’s #IWD21 event to be:

A warm and engaging MEETING of local women
A PLATFORM​ for sharing and support
A CALL TO ACTION​ exploring ways to build new opportunities for local women

Funded with the support of Arts Council England