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Tasman District Libraries

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Covid 19

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2020 Lockdown Quilt Oral Histories

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Alternative NameLockdown Quilt Oral HistoriesDescriptionIn May 2020, Pania Walton, Marketing & Events Coordinator for Tasman District Libraries, launched an invitation for people of all ages and stitching abilities across Te Tau Ihu, The Top of The South, to stitch a word or image relating to their experience of Level 4 Lockdown to a piece of fabric to be included in a community quilt. The intention was to provide an opportunity for our community to express their experiences and create a shared narrative around our collective experience. The result was the 2020 Lockdown Quilt.

In February 2021, Pania received NZLPP Covid-19 recovery funding to spend 10 hours a week over the next 18 months seeding an oral history collection for Tasman District Libraries. The 2020 Lockdown Quilt Oral Histories are the first collection created with this funding. Seven of the 2020 Lockdown Quilt participants agreed to be interviewed by Pania about their experiences of Level 4 Lockdown, the role stitching plays in their lives, and their experience of taking part in the 2020 Lockdown Quilt project. Though individual to each woman’s experience and voice, their stories all speak to a shared experience not only of Level 4 Lockdown, but of being a daughter and mother – being stitched for as a child, and stitching for others as an adult, knitting and embroidery providing a continuous thread across time and place.

The 2020 Lockdown Quilt oral histories also illustrate the ways in which changes to technology over time affect the experience of communities during crisis and change. Many of the speakers refer to the role Zoom, FaceTime or email played in allowing them to remain in touch with work, family or friends during Lockdown; and note the contrast with the experience of our ancestors during previous pandemics who were only able to communicate with each other by letter.

As a form of community engagement and development, the 2020 Lockdown Quilt project and oral histories were an unmitigated success. The quilt itself literally brought together the individual experiences of more than 60 people into a cohesive expression of a community’s experience, leading many participants to say that taking part in the quilt project helped them to make sense of the pandemic and to feel more part of our local community. Similarly, those stitchers who took part in the oral histories said the experience made them feel valued and more connected to the local community. Date2020-2022Subject/KeywordOral historiesArts and craftsCommunity eventsPandemicsBubblesKāhui rāhuiAcknowledgementsThanks to Ana Wiles, Christine McGuigan, Terri Vowell, Bev Inwood, Fiona Summerfield, Raewyn Hannam and Rosie Grace-Webb for sharing their experiences for this project. Additional thanks to Christine McGuigan for not only stitching two pieces for the quilt, but for stitching the entire quilt together. This project would not have been so successful without her help and expertise.

©Tasman District Libraries, 2021.

Audio

Bev Inwood

Terri Vowell

Raewyn Hannam

Rosie Grace-Webb

Ana Wiles

Fiona Summerfield

Christine McGuigan

Collection

Abel Tasman National Park Oral Histories

2020 Lockdown Quilt

Oral Histories

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CollectionOral Histories2020 Lockdown QuiltOrganisationTasman District LibrariesEventCovid 19

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2020 Lockdown Quilt Oral Histories