Centenary of Canberra’s Creative Director Robyn Archer visited the ANU School of Art Textiles workshop on December 10 and wove the first threads by a community member into the Canberra Centenary Community Tapestry. The project will help to commemorate the city’s rich history and celebrate its bright future.  With an array of greens, browns, blues and golds, the tapestry will reflect the 100 years since the naming of Canberra in 2013 and identify key landmarks like Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial and Black Mountain Tower.

ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher also attended today’s event and believes the 2.7m by 1.4m tapestry will become a significant marker of Canberra, its community and 100 year history.

The project is being produced by the Australian National University’s College of the Arts and Social Sciences, and will be overseen by renowned tapestry artist, Valerie Kirk.

“Tapestry is an ancient and honoured artform that has left a poetic legacy of narratives from the courts and nobility, church and common people,” Valerie said.

“The Canberra Centenary Community Tapestry will tell the story of Canberra through its design and by the many hands that will weave the coloured weft yarns into the warp.”

Small tapestries woven by individuals or groups in other parts of the country and the world will be exhibited with the Canberra Centenary Community Tapestry in 2013 in the ACT Legislative Assembly Gallery. These tapestries will then be returned to their makers and will commemorate the Centenary in personal collections.

There will be tapestry workshops open to the public between February and August next year, where the participants will learn to weave a small tapestry and the more difficult parts of the large centenary tapestry.

The public—with no prior training necessary—are encouraged to contribute to the tapestry at sessions taking place the Textiles Workshop at the ANU School of Art every Sunday, as well as one evening through the week.

The project has been funded by the Canberra 100 Community Initiatives Fund, with support from the ACT Legislative Assembly and the Textiles Workshop at the ANU School of Art.

For more information on how you can contribute to the tapestry, contact communitycentenarytapestry@anu.edu.au or visit www.canberra100communitytapestry.com.